A Systematic Review of the Effects of Football Playing on Changes in Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Level

Background: Consistent evidence suggests that exercise improves cognition and decision making, with preliminary evidence suggesting that brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNFs) may mediate these effects on high-intensity interval activities, such as in football playing. We conducted a systematic review of studies on football players or football task interventions that evaluated the causality of exercise or its relationship with changes in the basal BDNF level. Methods: The search was conducted in PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane, and FECYT (Web of Sciences, CCC, DIIDW, KJD, MEDLINE, RSCI, and SCIELO) according to the guidelines for performing systematic reviews in the sport sciences field. Results: From the 44 studies initially identified, seven studies were fully reviewed, and their outcome measures were extracted and analysed. In the scientific study of football, the studies published thus far have explored the relationship of serum BDNF levels and other cognitive function factors with the genetic expression of polymorphisms, the anthropometric and fitness conditions, the acute exercise effect of the match, and the typical actions of the match such as heading. Conclusions: The heterogeneity of designs and variables evaluated in studies related to BDNF exercise or interaction and football playing does not allow us to conclusively determine that there is a relationship with the cause or effect of genetic, anthropometric, or conditional factors that derive from an increase in BDNF due to actions during the playing of football.

Biomechanism and exercise effect of fitness walking using twin walking sticks

In Japan, walking poles with pairs of sticks developed exclusively for fitness walking have been designed. A new concept of walking style (WS) has been conceived using these walking sticks to “effectively” walk around the city, comprehensive sports parks, or at rehabilitation hospitals. Stick manufacturers are promoting its health benefits; however, evidence supporting these claims is lacking. Hence, this study aimed to measure the influence of walking sticks and evaluate the exercise effect based on functional physical fitness related to WS characteristics. The participants were 12 WS instructors. They engaged in WS at a comfortable speed after walking normally at the same speed (WN) for ∼5 m (seven times), followed by WS again. The walking speed, step length, stride width, walk ratio, one-leg support time, and trajectory of the center of gravity (CG) (in the horizontal and vertical directions of one walking cycle) calculated from the whole-body skeleton model were analyzed. The gait of WS increased the step length, step width, and walking ratio as compared with that of WN (p<0.05). WS likely reduce cadence and one-leg support time (p<0.05). The CG locus in the left-right direction showed no significant differences between WS and WN. The maximum value of the CG locus in the vertical direction was high in WS (p<0.05). WS can be used as a navigation training tool that improves a walker's exercise efficiency and left-right leg coordination, thereby improving walking posture. This may help reduce the anxiety due to injuries and pain that may occur while walking.

Physical Exercise Improves Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Stage 3–4 Chronic Kidney Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) exhibit a higher probability of having cognitive impairment or dementia than those without CKD. The beneficial effects of physical exercise on cognitive function are known in the general older population, but more research is required in older adults with CKD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Eighty-one outpatients (aged ≥65 years) with CKD stage G3–G4 were assessed for eligibility. Among them, 60 were randomized (single-center, unblinded, and stratified) and 53 received the allocated intervention (exercise <i>n</i> = 27, control <i>n</i> = 26). Patients in the exercise group undertook group-exercise training at our facility once weekly and independent exercises at home twice weekly or more, for 24 weeks. Patients in the control group received general care. General and specific cognitive functions (memory, attention, executive, and verbal) were measured, and differences in their scores at baseline and at the 24-week follow-up visit were assessed between the 2 groups. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Forty-four patients completed the follow-up at 24 weeks (exercise <i>n</i> = 23, control <i>n</i> = 21). Patients in the exercise group showed significantly greater changes in Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised Logical Memory delayed recall (exercise effect: 2.82, 95% CI: 0.46–5.19, <i>p</i> = 0.03), and immediate and delayed recall (exercise effect: 5.97, 95% CI: 1.13–10.81, <i>p</i> = 0.02) scores than those in the control group. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The 24-week exercise intervention significantly improved the memory function in older adults with pre-dialysis CKD. This randomized controlled trial suggests that physical exercise is a useful nonpharmacological strategy for preventing cognitive decline in these patients.

Changes in muscle coactivation during running: a comparison between two techniques, forefoot vs rearfoot

Introduction: According to the literature, eccentric exercise has been considered a precursor of neuromuscular changes generated by post-exercise damage, mainly causing an alteration in the muscle cell membrane. Muscle fiber conduction velocity (MFCV) has been one of the physiological variables that have allowed to quantify this alteration. Some investigations have shown a decrease in the MFCV after eccentric exercise protocols; however, few studies have confirmed these findings. This review aimed to describe the recent scientific evidence that reports changes in the MFCV after eccentric exercise protocols. Material and method: From 265 articles, 6 articles were selected from EBSCO and MEDLINE platforms with a temporal filter of 10 years (between 2010 and April 2020), using inclusion/exclusion criteria predetermined. Firstly, the information from eccentric exercise effect on MFCV, and exercise protocols were described. Secondly, the techniques used to record electromyographic signals and some criteria to determine the MFCV were reported. Results: Modifications of MFCV can be observed after eccentric exercise in almost all selected articles. At the same time, a decrease of this variable was observed in four studies, associated with the biceps brachii and two portions of the quadriceps muscles. However, one article describes an increase of the MFCV in the vastus lateralis quadriceps. Conclusion: The articles suggest that eccentric contractions could modify the MFCV behavior of some muscles. However, evidence is still lacking to describe the real cause of these changes.

Treadmill Training Effect on the Myokines Content in Skeletal Muscles of Mice With a Metabolic Disorder Model

The effect of treadmill training loads on the content of cytokines in mice skeletal muscles with metabolic disorders induced by a 16 week high fat diet (HFD) was studied. The study included accounting the age and biorhythmological aspects. In the experiment, mice were used at the age of 4 and 32 weeks, by the end of the experiment—respectively 20 and 48 weeks. HFD feeding lasted 16 weeks. Treadmill training were carried out for last 4 weeks six times a week, the duration 60 min and the speed from 15 to 18 m/min. Three modes of loading were applied. The first subgroup was subjected to stress in the morning hours (light phase); the second subgroup was subjected to stress in the evening hours (dark phase); the third subgroup was subjected to loads in the shift mode (the first- and third-weeks treadmill training was used in the morning hours, the second and fourth treadmill training was used in the evening hours). In 20-week-old animals, the exercise effect does not depend on the training regime, however, in 48-week-old animals, the decrease in body weight in mice with the shift training regime was more profound. HFD affected muscle myokine levels. The content of all myokines, except for LIF, decreased, while the concentration of CLCX1 decreased only in young animals in response to HFD. The treadmill training caused multidirectional changes in the concentration of myokines in muscle tissue. The IL-6 content changed most profoundly. These changes were observed in all groups of animals. The changes depended to the greatest extent on the training time scheme. The effect of physical activity on the content of IL-15 in the skeletal muscle tissue was observed mostly in 48-week-old mice. In 20-week-old animals, physical activity led to an increase in the concentration of LIF in muscle tissue when applied under the training during the dark phase or shift training scheme. In the HFD group, this effect was significantly more pronounced. The content of CXCL1 did not change with the use of treadmill training in almost all groups of animals. Physical activity, introduced considering circadian rhythms, is a promising way of influencing metabolic processes both at the cellular and systemic levels, which is important for the search for new ways of correcting metabolic disorders.

The Exercise-induced Improvement in Insulin-stimulated Glucose Uptake by Rat Skeletal Muscle Is Absent in Male AS160-Knockout Rats, Partially Restored by Muscle Expression of Phosphomutated AS160, and Fully Restored by Muscle Expression of Wildtype AS160

One exercise session can elevate insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (ISGU) in skeletal muscle, but the mechanisms remain elusive. Circumstantial evidence suggests a role for Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160 or TBC1D4). We used genetic approaches to rigorously test this idea. The initial experiment evaluated AS160’s role for the postexercise increase in ISGU using muscles from male wildtype (WT) and AS160-knockout (AS160-KO) rats. The next experiment used AS160-KO rats with an adeno-associated virus (AAV) approach to determine if rescuing muscle AS160 deficiency could restore exercise’s ability to improve ISGU. The third experiment tested if eliminating the muscle GLUT4 deficit in AS160-KO rats via AAV-delivered GLUT4 would enable postexercise enhancement of ISGU. The final experiment employed AS160-KO rats and AAV-delivery of AS160 mutated to prevent phosphorylation of Ser588, Thr642, and Ser704 to evaluate their role in postexercise ISGU. We discovered: 1) AS160 expression was essential for postexercise increase in ISGU; 2) rescuing muscle AS160 expression of AS160-KO rats restored postexercise enhancement of ISGU; 3) restoring GLUT4 expression in AS160-KO muscle did not rescue the postexercise increase in ISGU; and 4) although AS160 phosphorylation on 3 key sites was not required for postexercise elevation in ISGU, it was essential for the full-exercise effect.

The Exercise-induced Improvement in Insulin-stimulated Glucose Uptake by Rat Skeletal Muscle Is Absent in Male AS160-Knockout Rats, Partially Restored by Muscle Expression of Phosphomutated AS160, and Fully Restored by Muscle Expression of Wildtype AS160

One exercise session can elevate insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (ISGU) in skeletal muscle, but the mechanisms remain elusive. Circumstantial evidence suggests a role for Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160 or TBC1D4). We used genetic approaches to rigorously test this idea. The initial experiment evaluated AS160’s role for the postexercise increase in ISGU using muscles from male wildtype (WT) and AS160-knockout (AS160-KO) rats. The next experiment used AS160-KO rats with an adeno-associated virus (AAV) approach to determine if rescuing muscle AS160 deficiency could restore exercise’s ability to improve ISGU. The third experiment tested if eliminating the muscle GLUT4 deficit in AS160-KO rats via AAV-delivered GLUT4 would enable postexercise enhancement of ISGU. The final experiment employed AS160-KO rats and AAV-delivery of AS160 mutated to prevent phosphorylation of Ser588, Thr642, and Ser704 to evaluate their role in postexercise ISGU. We discovered: 1) AS160 expression was essential for postexercise increase in ISGU; 2) rescuing muscle AS160 expression of AS160-KO rats restored postexercise enhancement of ISGU; 3) restoring GLUT4 expression in AS160-KO muscle did not rescue the postexercise increase in ISGU; and 4) although AS160 phosphorylation on 3 key sites was not required for postexercise elevation in ISGU, it was essential for the full-exercise effect.

Analysis of physical activity effects on plasma glucose–insulin system dynamics: A mathematical model

The main objective of this paper is to understand and analyse the effect of physical activity on plasma glucose and plasma insulin levels through mathematical modelling. Energy for the human body during physical activity is provided by glucose as sugar, while insulin as hormone supports the absorption of this glucose. Furthermore, glucose and insulin are interrelated physiologically by some parameters that we estimate mathematically by using nonlinear optimization and data collected in Rwanda. Research in this direction has been done by, for example Anirban and colleagues, who developed a dynamic model of exercise effect on plasma glucose and insulin levels. As a benchmark, the results of numerical simulation obtained in this paper have been compared with those of Anirban and colleagues to test the efficiency of our mathematical model. We have concluded that the results of those two separate mathematical models are in good accordance and that the proposed mathematical model allows further investigation of the effects of physical activity on the dynamics of the glucose–insulin system. Moreover, we have implemented a particle filtering algorithm for estimation of glucose and insulin in internal parts of the body such as heart and liver by using measurements from peripheral tissues as noisy data because taking blood samples from all parts of the body is practically and clinically impossible.