Exercise Training Reverses Structural Microvascular Rarefaction and Improves Endothelium-Dependent Microvascular Reactivity in Rats with Diabetes.

Background: We evaluated structural microvascular alterations in the skeletal muscle and left ventricle, as well as endothelium-dependent microvascular reactivity in the skeletal muscle, of diabetic rats subjected to long-term aerobic exercise training.

Methods: Diabetes was experimentally induced by a combination of a high-fat diet with a single low dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg, i.p.

Physical exercise restores microvascular function in obese rats with metabolic syndrome.

Background: Obesity and metabolic syndrome are related to systemic functional microvascular alterations, including a significant reduction in microvessel density. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of exercise training on functional capillary density in the skeletal muscle and skin of obese rats with metabolic syndrome.

Methods: We used male Wistar-Kyoto rats that had been fed a standard commercial diet (CON) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 32 weeks.