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EMS used at low current intensity and for a short duration failed to prevent muscle atrophy in critically ill patients. However, we did find a significant improvement in active dorsiflexion of the ankle joint suggesting that it could help to prevent against stance plantar flexion in these patients.

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Background: Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are both associated with the prevalence of major cardiovascular illnesses and certain common factors they are considered responsible for, such as stress oxidative increase, sympathetic tonus and resistance to insulin. Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on oxidative stress and adiponectin levels in obese patients with and without OSA. Methods: Twenty-nine obese patients were categorized into 3 groups: group 1: 10 individuals without OSA (apnea-hypopnea index, AHI ≤5) who did not have OSA diagnosed at polysomnography; group 2: 10 patients with moderate to severe OSA (AHI ≧20) who did not use CPAP; group 3: 9 patients with moderate to severe OSA (AHI ≧20) who used CPAP. Results: Group 3 showed significant differences before and after the use of CPAP, in the variables of diminished production of superoxide, and increased nitrite and nitrate synthesis and adiponectin levels. Positive correlations were seen between the AHI and the superoxide production, between the nitrite and nitrate levels and the adiponectin levels, between superoxide production and the HOMA-IR, and between AHI and the HOMA-IR. Negative correlations were found between AHI and the nitrite and nitrate levels, between the superoxide production and that of nitric oxide, between the superoxide production and the adiponectin levels, between AHI and the adiponectin levels, and between the nitrite and nitrate levels and the HOMA-IR. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the use of CPAP can reverse the increased superoxide production, the diminished serum nitrite, nitrate and plasma adiponectin levels, and the metabolic changes existing in obese patients with OSA.

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Backgorund/Aims: Modulations in the immune function by stress are a well-known phenomenon. Acute restraint stress may induce impaired T-lymphocyte responses. Moderate physical training is associated with beneficial effects on immunological functions. We investigated the effects of a moderate physical training on T-lymphocyte function in rats submitted to acute restraint stress. Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats weighing 210–226 g were randomly divided into four groups: non-trained rats (NT, n = 7), and non-trained rats submitted to stress (NT + S, n = 8); trained rats (T, n = 7), and trained rats submitted to stress (T + S, n = 8). Trained rats were submitted to a program of moderate running over a period of 8 weeks. Rats subjected to restraint stress were kept immobilized in glass cylinders (8 cm in diameter and 24 cm long) during 60 min. Plasma corticosterone concentration, peripheral blood leukocyte number, indicators of apoptosis of T lymphocytes in blood and lymphoid organs, and mitogen-induced proliferation of T lymphocytes in lymphoid organs were evaluated. Results: Acute stress exposure raised plasma corticosterone concentration (p < 0.001), but not in previously trained animals. Restraint stress induced an increase in the percentage of lymphocytes in apoptosis, and a decrease in the concanavalin-A-induced proliferation of lymphocytes from the thymus and lymph nodes, and an increase in lymphocytes of the spleen. Neither of these alterations was observed in trained animals submitted to acute restraint stress. Conclusions: Our data confirm that acute restraint stress is associated with changes in T-lymphocyte function. Moreover, moderate physical training attenuates the effects of acute stress by a mechanism that involves the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and an increase in tolerance of leukocytes.