Background: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 10 weeks of resistance or treadmill exercises on glycemic indices levels prior to and immediately following exercise in adults with type 2 diabetes. Research Design and Method: Twenty inactive subjects (mean age 53.5 years) with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the study. Baseline HbA1c, blood glucose levels, heart rate, and blood pressure were measured for each subject prior to the initiation of the exercise program. Subsequently, subjects were matched to age, waist circumference and sex and assigned to either isocaloric resistance or treadmill exercise groups, which met 3 times per week for 10 weeks. Results: Both groups showed a reduction in pre and post-exercise blood glucose and HbA1c values. There was no change in resting blood pressure or heart rate in either group during the course of the 10 week intervention. The group receiving resistance exercises showed significant differences in the daily pre-exercise plasma glucose readings between the beginning and end of the exercise protocol (p < 0.001). There were significant improvements in the mean HbA1c reading pre and post training in both groups (p < 0.001). However, the greater reduction was noted in the resistance exercise group, and at 10 weeks their HbA1c levels were significantly lower than the group that received treadmill exercises (p < 0.006). Conclusion: Ten weeks of resistance exercises were associated with a significantly better glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes compared to treadmill exercise.

Background: Diminished calcium (Ca²⁺) transients in response to physiological agonists have been reported in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from diabetic animals. However, the mechanism responsible was unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: VSMCs from autoimmune type 1 Diabetes Resistant Bio-Breeding (DR-BB) rats and streptozotocin-induced rats were examined for levels and distribution of inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP₃R) and the SR Ca²⁺ pumps (SERCA 2 and 3). Generally, a decrease in IP₃R levels and dramatic increase in ryanodine receptor (RyR) levels were noted in the aortic samples from diabetic animals. Redistribution of the specific IP₃R subtypes was dependent on the rat model. SERCA 2 was redistributed to a peri-nuclear pattern that was more prominent in the DR-BB diabetic rat aorta than the STZ diabetic rat. The free intracellular Ca²⁺ in freshly dispersed VSMCs from control and diabetic animals was monitored using ratiometric Ca²⁺ sensitive fluorophores viewed by confocal microscopy. In control VSMCs, basal fluorescence levels were significantly higher in the nucleus relative to the cytoplasm, while in diabetic VSMCs they were essentially the same. Vasopressin induced a predictable increase in free intracellular Ca²⁺ in the VSMCs from control rats with a prolonged and significantly blunted response in the diabetic VSMCs. A slow rise in free intracellular Ca²⁺ in response to thapsigargin, a specific blocker of SERCA was seen in the control VSMCs but was significantly delayed and prolonged in cells from diabetic rats. To determine whether the changes were due to the direct effects of hyperglycemica, experiments were repeated using cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells (A7r5) grown in hyperglycemic and control conditions. In general, they demonstrated the same changes in protein levels and distribution as well as the blunted Ca²⁺ responses to vasopressin and thapsigargin as noted in the cells from diabetic animals. Conclusions/Significance: This work demonstrates that the previously-reported reduced Ca²⁺ signaling in VSMCs from diabetic animals is related to decreases and/or redistribution in the IP₃R Ca²⁺ channels and SERCA proteins. These changes can be duplicated in culture with high glucose levels.

Some of the most debilitating symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) include widespread chronic pain, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Yet, there is a lack of effective self-management exercise interventions capable of alleviating FM symptoms. The objective of this study is to examine the efficacy of a 10-week daily Qigong, a mind-body intervention program, on FM symptoms. 20 participants with FM were randomly assigned to Qigong (experimental) or sham-Qigong (control) groups, with participants blinded to the intervention allocation. The Qigong group practiced mild body movements synchronized with deep diaphragmatic breathing and meditation. The sham-Qigong group practiced only mild body movements. Both groups practiced the interventions two times per day at home, plus one weekly group practice session with a Qigong instructor. Primary outcomes were: pain changes measured by the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire, a visual analog scale for pain, pressure pain threshold measured by a dolorimeter. Secondary outcomes were: the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Quality of Life Scale. The experimental group experienced greater clinical improvements when compared to the control group on the mean score differences of pain, sleep quality, chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, and fibromyalgia impact, all being statistically significant at p < 0.05. Daily practice of Qigong appears to have a positive impact on the main fibromyalgia symptoms that is beyond group interaction. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03441997.

Background: Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In particular, type 1 diabetes compromises the cardiac function of individuals at a relatively early age due to the protracted course of abnormal glucose homeostasis. The functional abnormalities of diabetic myocardium have been attributed to the pathological changes of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Methods: In this study, we used high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the left ventricular functional characteristics of streptozotocin treated diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats (8 weeks disease duration) in comparison with age/sex matched controls. Results: Our analyses of EKG gated cardiac MRI scans of the left ventricle showed a 28% decrease in the end-diastolic volume and 10% increase in the end-systolic volume of diabetic hearts compared to controls. Mean stroke volume and ejection fraction in diabetic rats were decreased (48% and 28%, respectively) compared to controls. Further, dV/dt changes were suggestive of phase sensitive differences in left ventricular kinetics across the cardiac cycle between diabetic and control rats. Conclusion: Thus, the MRI analyses of diabetic left ventricle suggest impairment of diastolic and systolic hemodynamics in this rat model of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Our studies also show that in vivo MRI could be used in the evaluation of cardiac dysfunction in this rat model of type 1 diabetes.

Background: Early markers of diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN) in an electrocardiogram (ECG) include elevated R wave amplitudes, widening of QT_c intervals and decreased heart rate variability (HRV). The severity of DAN has a direct relationship with mortality risk. Aerobic exercise training is a common recommendation for the delay and possible reversal of cardiac dysfunction. Limited research exists on ECG measures for the evaluation of aerobic exercise training in Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat, a model of type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to assess whether aerobic exercise training may attenuate diabetes induced ECG changes. Methods: Male ZDF (obese fa/fa) and control Zucker (lean fa/+) rats were assigned to 4 groups: sedentary control (SC), sedentary diabetic (SD), exercised control (EC) and exercised diabetic (ED). The exercised groups began 7 weeks of treadmill training after the development of diabetes in the ED group. Baseline (prior to the training) and termination measurements included body weight, heart weight, blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels and ECG parameters. One way repeated measures ANOVA (group) analyzed within and between subject differences and interactions. Pearson coefficients and descriptive statistics described variable relationships and animal characteristics. Results: Diabetes caused crucial changes in R wave amplitudes (p < 0.001), heart rate variability (p < 0.01), QT intervals (p < 0.001) and QT_c intervals (p < 0.001). R wave amplitude augmentation in SD rats from baseline to termination was ameliorated by exercise, resulting in R wave amplitude changes in ED animals similar to control rats. Aerobic exercise training neither attenuated QT or QT_c interval prolongation nor restored decreases in HRV in diabetic rats. Conclusion: This study revealed alterations in R wave amplitudes, HRV, QT and QT_c intervals in ZDF rats. Of these changes, aerobic exercise training was able to correct R wave amplitude changes. In addition, exercise has beneficial effect in this diabetic rat model in regards to ECG correlates of left ventricular mass.