Prediction of central Augmentation Index in healthy adults.

Background: Central Augmentation Index (AIx) is a surrogate marker of large artery stiffness that may provide valuable insight to cardiovascular health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between AIx and components of physical fitness.

Methods: One hundred eighty-five healthy men and women (aged 20-79 years) underwent non-invasive assessment of arterial wave reflection to determine AIx, which was corrected to a heart rate of 75 beats per minute (AI×75).

Arterial function in response to a 50 km ultramarathon in recreational athletes.

This study was performed to determine whether prolonged endurance running results in acute endothelial dysfunction and wave-reflection, as endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness are cardiovascular risk factors. Vascular function (conduit artery/macrovascular and resistance artery/microvascular) was assessed in 11 experienced runners (8 males, 3 females) before, during and after a 50 km ultramarathon. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), wave reflection, augmentation index (AIx) and AIx corrected for HR (AIx75) were taken at all time points-Baseline (BL), following 10, 20, 30 and 40 km, 1 h post-completion (1HP) and 24 h post-completion (24HP).

Muscle thickness and inflammation during a 50km ultramarathon in recreational runners.

Purpose: This study examined changes in circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines [IL-6, sIL-6R, TNF-α, and calprotectin], skeletal muscle morphology, and muscle strength following a 50km race in non-elite athletes.

Methods: Eleven individuals (8 men; 3 women) underwent pre-race assessments of rectus femoris muscle thickness (resting and contracted) using ultrasound, isometric knee extensor torque, and plasma cytokines. Measures were repeated after 10km of running, the 50km finish (post-race), and again 24-hrs post-race.

High-intensity functional exercise does not cause persistent elevations in augmentation index in young men and women.

Elevations in central augmentation index (AIx) are predictive of cardiovascular disease. The objective of this study was to examine AIx immediately and 24 h following an acute bout of high-intensity functional training (HIFT) in apparently healthy young adults. A second aim compared the exercise-induced AIx recovery response between men and women.

CD31+ Circulating Angiogenic Cell Number and Subtypes are Reduced in Individuals with Chronic Stroke.

Background And Purpose: Reduced number and function of CD31+ circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) may explain vascular complications associated with the chronic phase stroke. The purpose of this study was to quantify CD31+ CAC paracrine function, total number and number of various subtypes of CD31+ CACs in individuals with chronic stroke compared with controls.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from chronic stroke participants and controls.

Circulating microparticle concentrations across acute and chronic cardiovascular disease conditions.

Unlabelled: Concentrations of different circulating microparticles (MPs) may have clinical and physiological relevance to cardiovascular disease pathologies.

Purpose: To quantify plasma concentrations of CD31+/CD42b-, CD62E+, and CD34+ MPs across healthy individuals and those with coronary artery disease (CAD) or acute cardiovascular events (non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI)). Fasted blood was obtained from CAD patients (n = 10), NSTEMI patients (n = 13), and healthy older men (n = 15) 60-75 years old.

Sitting decreases endothelial microparticles but not circulating angiogenic cells irrespective of lower leg exercises: a randomized cross-over trial.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? What are the cellular and molecular determinants of increased risk for cardiovascular disease from prolonged sitting? What is the main finding and its importance? Prolonged sitting, independent of calf raise interruption strategies, decreases microparticle counts linked to endothelial activation and apoptosis. An acute bout of prolonged sitting appears to promote paradoxical decreases in microparticle counts, but the implications are not yet clear.

Abstract: Repeated exposure to prolonged sitting increases the risk for cardiovascular disease.

Serum IL-6 and sIL-6R in type 2 diabetes contribute to impaired capillary-like network formation.

We hypothesized that the serum from individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) would reduce in vitro capillary-like network formation compared with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) serum and that this would occur along with higher serum concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and lower concentrations of angiogenic growth factors. Subjects were sedentary, older (55-65 yr) adults with NGT, IGT, or T2DM ( = 10/group) matched for body mass index. Human retroviral telomerized endothelial cells (HRVT-ECs) or coronary artery endothelial cells (CECs) were used in a capillary-like network formation assay using endothelial basal medium supplemented with 7.

Effects of regular endurance exercise on GlycA: Combined analysis of 14 exercise interventions.

Background And Aims: GlycA is a relatively new biomarker for inflammation as well as cardiometabolic disease risk. However, the effect of exercise on GlycA is largely unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of regular exercise on the inflammatory marker GlycA across seven studies and 14 exercise interventions.

Type 2 diabetes and older age contribute to elevated plasma microparticle concentrations independent of chronic stroke.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? What is the effect of chronic stroke on circulating microparticle populations, accounting for potential effects of age and type 2 diabetes? What is the main finding and its importance? Elevated concentrations of CD31 /CD42b and CD62E microparticles appear to be driven by type 2 diabetes but not chronic stroke and are associated with fasting glucose and triglyceride levels. Older age results in elevations in CD62E and CD34 microparticle concentrations. These microparticles have been proposed as potential targets for diagnosing, treating and identifying the clinical progression and complications of type 2 diabetes.

The Microvasculature and Skeletal Muscle Health in Aging.

Aging and aging-related declines in physical activity are associated with physical and metabolic impairments. Skeletal muscle capillarization is reduced in sedentary older adults, may contribute to impairments in skeletal muscle, and is modifiable by exercise training. This article examines the hypothesis that preservation of skeletal muscle capillarization is essential to maintain metabolism, fitness, and function with aging.

Laboratory and Match Physiological Data From an Elite Male Collegiate Soccer Athlete.

This study compared physiological data from an elite collegiate soccer player to those of his teammates over 2 seasons. The player of special interest (player A) was the winner of the MAC Hermann Trophy and was therefore considered the top player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division I soccer for each of the 2 seasons in which data were collected. Maximal oxygen consumption (V[Combining Dot Above]O2max) was measured during preseasons and heart rate (HR) was recorded during competitive matches.

Investigating the extremes of the continuum of paracrine functions in CD34-/CD31+ CACs across diverse populations.

Unlabelled: Paracrine function of circulating angiogenic cells (CACs) is thought to contribute to vascular maintenance. We previously identified S100A8 and S100A9 secreted from physically inactive individuals' CD34/CD31 CACs as negative regulators of capillary-like network formation. The purpose of this study was to investigate further the extremes of the continuum of CAC paracrine actions using two distinctly different groups representing "healthy" and "impaired" CAC function.

Short-term exercise training improves flow-mediated dilation and circulating angiogenic cell number in older sedentary adults.

Cardiovascular disease risk increases with age due, in part, to impaired endothelial function and decreased circulating angiogenic cell (CAC) number and function. We sought to determine if 10 days of aerobic exercise training improves endothelial function, CAC number, and intracellular redox balance in older sedentary adults. Eleven healthy subjects (4 men, 7 women), 61 ± 2 years of age participated in 60 min of aerobic exercise at 70% maximal oxygen consumption for 10 consecutive days while maintaining body weight.

Circulating angiogenic and inflammatory cytokine responses to acute aerobic exercise in trained and sedentary young men.

Purpose: Endurance exercise training can ameliorate many cardiovascular and metabolic disorders and attenuate responses to inflammatory stimuli. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the angiogenic and pro-inflammatory cytokine response to acute endurance exercise differs between endurance-trained and sedentary young men.

Methods: Ten endurance-trained and ten sedentary healthy young men performed 30 min of treadmill running at 75 % VO2max with blood sampling before and after exercise.

Effects of prior acute exercise on circulating cytokine concentration responses to a high-fat meal.

High-fat meal consumption alters the circulating cytokine profile and contributes to cardiometabolic diseases. A prior bout of exercise can ameliorate the triglyceride response to a high-fat meal, but the interactive effects of exercise and high-fat meals on cytokines that mediate cardiometabolic risk are not fully understood. We investigated the effects of prior exercise on the responses of circulating tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, leptin, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), placental growth factor (PlGF), and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) to a high-fat meal.