Acute effects of the different relaxation periods during passive intermittent static stretching on arterial stiffness.

To clarify whether the relaxation period during stretching affects the degree of elevated shear rate and the degree of reduction of arterial stiffness, we examined relaxation duration to build an adequate stretching protocol. In Experiment 1, the changes in cardiac output, the shear rate in the posterior tibial artery, and blood volume in the calf muscle were measured during recovery (0-60 s) from a single bout of one-legged passive calf stretching in 12 healthy young men. In Experiment 2, the effects of different relaxation periods (5-, 10-, 20-, and 60-s) of passive one-legged intermittent calf stretching (30-s × 6 sets) on the femoral-ankle pulse wave velocity (faPWV) as an index of peripheral arterial stiffness were identified in 17 healthy young men.

Decreased muscle-derived musclin by chronic resistance exercise is associated with improved insulin resistance in rats with type 2 diabetes.

Chronic resistance exercise induces improved hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Musclin, a muscle-derived secretory factor, is involved in the induction of insulin resistance via the downregulation of the glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) signaling pathway in skeletal muscles. However, whether musclin affects the mechanism of resistance exercise remains unclear.

Relationship between plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine and nitric oxide levels affects aerobic exercise training-induced reduction of arterial stiffness in middle-aged and older adults.

Purpose: Aerobic exercise training (AT) reverses aging-induced deterioration of arterial stiffness via increased arterial nitric oxide (NO) production. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of NO synthase, was decreased by AT. However, whether AT-induced changes in ADMA levels are related to changes in nitrite/nitrate (NOx) levels remains unclear.