This study shows that under well-designed conditions, Tai Chi exercise training could decrease blood pressure and results in favorable lipid profile changes and improve subjects' anxiety status. Therefore, Tai Chi could be used as an alternative modality in treating patients with mild hypertension, with a promising economic effect.

No abstract

We have studied the effects of stevioside on the glucose and insulin metabolism in 2 models of diabetes in rats, STZ-induced diabetic rats and NIDDM diabetic rats induced by feeding with fructose. Stevioside (0.5 mg/kg), lowered the blood glucose levels in STZ-induced diabetic rats, peaking at 90 min. Stevioside administered twice daily also demonstrated dose-dependent effects in lowering the glucose levels in both diabetic rat models. Stevioside reduced the rise in glucose during glucose tolerance testing in normal rats. Stevioside dose-dependently decreased protein levels of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and PEPCK mRNA after 15 days of treatment. Stevioside also reduced insulin resistance in the diabetic animals as shown by the glucose lowering effects of tolbutamide. In conclusion, stevioside was able to regulate blood glucose levels by enhancing not only insulin secretion, but also insulin utilization in insulin-deficient rats; the latter was due to decreased PEPCK gene expression in rat liver by stevioside's action of slowing down gluconeogenesis. Further studies of this agent for the treatment of diabetes appear warranted.

Regular aerobic exercise can reduce blood pressure and is recommended as part of the lifestyle modification to reduce high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Hypertension itself, or/and pharmacological treatment for hypertension is associated with adverse effects on some aspects of quality of life. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of regular endurance exercise training on quality of life and blood pressure. Patients with mild to moderate hypertension (systolic blood pressure 140-180 or diastolic blood pressure 90-110 mm Hg) were randomized to a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group training for 3 sessions/week over 10 weeks or to a non-exercising control group. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline and after 6 and 10 weeks. In the 102 subjects (47 male, mean age 47 years) who completed the study, reductions in blood pressure in the exercise group at 10 weeks (-13.1/-6.3 mm Hg) were significant (P < 0.001) compared to baseline and to the control group (-1.5/+6.0 mm Hg). Unlike the control group, the exercise group showed an increase in exercise capacity from 8.2 +/- 1.6 to 10.8 +/- 2.2 METS (P < 0.01) and showed higher scores on 7 out of 8 subscales (P < 0.05) of the SF-36. Improvement in bodily pain and general health sub-scores correlated with reduction in systolic blood pressure. Regular endurance training improves both blood pressure and quality of life in hypertensive patients and should be encouraged more widely.