Habitual isomaltulose intake reduces arterial stiffness associated with postprandial hyperglycemia in middle-aged and elderly people: a randomized controlled trial.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1), produced by vascular endothelial cells, plays a pivotal role in the regulation of vascular tone. Isomaltulose, a naturally occurring sweetener and structural isomer of sucrose, reduces postprandial hyperglycemia, but its effect on arteriosclerosis due to hyperglycemia is unknown. The effects of 12 weeks of isomaltulose administration on ET-1 levels, a peptide that regulates arterial stiffness, blood pressure, and vascular tone, were tested before and after an oral glucose tolerance test.

A single-dose of oral nattokinase potentiates thrombolysis and anti-coagulation profiles.

Our aim was to determine the quantitative effects of a single-dose of Nattokinase (NK) administration on coagulation/fibrinolysis parameters comprehensively in healthy male subjects. A double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over NK intervention study was carried out in 12 healthy young males. Following the baseline blood draw, each subject was randomized to receive either a single-dose of 2,000 FU NK (NSK-SD, Japan Bio Science Laboratory Co.

Once-weekly muscle endurance and strength training prevents deterioration of muscle oxidative function and attenuates the degree of strength decline during 3-week forearm immobilization.

Purpose: Muscle unloading causes muscle function deterioration, but the extent to which training frequency or volume can be reduced while preserving muscle function during muscle unloading is unknown. We examined the effects of low-volume muscle endurance and strength training on forearm muscle oxidative capacity, endurance, and strength during a 3-week immobilization.

Methods: Twenty-seven, healthy, male volunteers were divided into four groups: immobilization only (IMM); immobilization with endurance and strength training, once-weekly (IMM + EST1) or twice-weekly (IMM + EST2); and control, without immobilization or training (CNT).

Low-volume strength and endurance training prevent the decrease in exercise hyperemia induced by non-dominant forearm immobilization.

We examined the effect of 3-week upper limb immobilization on conduit artery cross-sectional area and peak hyperemia (BF(peak)) after exhaustive dynamic handgrip exercise (Ex(dyn)), and that of low-volume strength and endurance training during immobilization. Healthy volunteers (n = 21; mean age, 22 years) were divided into 3 groups: immobilization only (IMM; n = 7), immobilization with training (STR + END; n = 7), and control (no immobilization or training, CNT; n = 7). Endurance training comprised Ex(dyn) at 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) (duration of each session, ~60 s; twice weekly).

A study of passive weight-bearing lower limb exercise effects on local muscles and whole body oxidative metabolism: a comparison with simulated horse riding, bicycle, and walking exercise.

Background: We have developed an exercise machine prototype for increasing exercise intensity by means of passively exercising lower limb muscles. The purpose of the present study was to compare the passive exercise intensity of our newly-developed machine with the intensities of different types of exercises. We also attempted to measure muscle activity to study how these forms of exercise affected individual parts of the body.

Low-volume muscular endurance and strength training during 3-week forearm immobilization was effective in preventing functional deterioration.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether endurance and strength hand grip exercises during 3-week upper limb immobilization preserve muscle oxidative capacity, endurance performance and strength.

Methods: Ten healthy adult men underwent non-dominant forearm immobilization by plaster cast for 21 days. Five healthy adult subjects were designated as the immobilization (IMM) group and five were designated as the immobilization + training (IMM+TRN) group.

Association between regional quadriceps oxygenation and blood oxygen saturation during normoxic one-legged dynamic knee extension.

It is not clear whether muscle oxygenation (O(2-NIRS)) measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) correlates with femoral venous SO2 (S(fv)o2) during normoxic exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare physiologically calibrated O(2-NIRS) with S(fv)o2 in subjects performing one-legged dynamic knee extension exercise (1L-KEE). Five healthy male subjects (age 25+/-2 year, height 177.

Muscle oxidative metabolism accelerates with mild acidosis during incremental intermittent isometric plantar flexion exercise.

BACKGROUND: It has been thought that intramuscular ADP and phosphocreatine (PCr) concentrations are important regulators of mitochondorial respiration. There is a threshold work rate or metabolic rate for cellular acidosis, and the decrease in muscle PCr is accelerated with drop in pH during incremental exercise. We tested the hypothesis that increase in muscle oxygen consumption (o2mus) is accelerated with rapid decrease in PCr (concomitant increase in ADP) in muscles with drop in pH occurs during incremental plantar flexion exercise.

Effect of moderate acute exercise on expression of mRNA involved in the calcineurin signaling pathway in human skeletal muscle.

Calcineurin, a calcium-regulated protein phosphatase, activates gene expression specific to slow muscle fibers by dephosphorylating a family of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), which cooperates with myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2) and AP-1. However, it remains unknown how acute exercise influences this signaling pathway and leads to the development of slow muscle fibers. In the present study, we investigated the effect of moderate acute exercise on mRNA expression of genes in the calcineurin signaling pathway in human skeletal muscle.

Muscle oxygen consumption at onset of exercise by near infrared spectroscopy in humans.

In this study, we tried to continuously measure muscle oxygen consumption (m-VO2) by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) without arterial occlusions. We used an intermittent isometric exercise at high intensity, which elicits a spontaneous occlusion of the blood flow to the muscle due to an increase in intramuscular pressure. Changes in muscle oxygenation and phosphocreatine (PCr) concentration were monitored in 5 subjects during an intermittent isometric exercise (5 sec.