The brain's low resistance ensures a robust blood flow throughout systole and diastole and is susceptible to flow pulsatility. Increased cerebral pulsatility contributes to the progression of cerebrovascular disease. Although aerobic exercise affects vascular function, little is known about the effect of exercise on the cerebral pulsatility index in older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise training on the post‐exercise cerebral pulsatility response in older adults. Ten healthy older adults participated in a 12‐week exercise training intervention. Before and after the intervention, we measured the pulsatility index of the middle cerebral artery by means of transcranial Doppler method at baseline and following a cycling exercise bout performed at an intensity corresponding to the ventilatory threshold. Before exercise training, there was no significant change in the cerebral pulsatility response to an acute bout of cycling exercise. However, after the intervention, cerebral pulsatility decreased significantly following 30 min of an acute cycling exercise (P < 0.05). This study demonstrated that cerebral pulsatility index did not change following an acute bout of cycling exercise at an intensity corresponding to ventilatory threshold, but that, after 12 weeks of exercise training, cerebral pulsatility index was reduced at 30 min after a single bout of cycling exercise. These results suggest that long‐term aerobic exercise training may enhance the post‐exercise reduction in pulsatility index in older adults.

These results suggest that AT before RT combined with fortified milk consumption has similar effects on skeletal muscle mass and strength compared with RT alone, but it may be a more useful strategy to improve physical performance in older adults. Although the mechanism of our intervention is uncertain, our program would be an effective prevention for sarcopenia in older adults.

The World Health Organization has recommended 5 g/day as dietary reference intakes for salt. In Japan, the averages for men and women were 11.0 g/day and 9.3 g/day, respectively. Recently, it was reported that amounts of sodium accumulation in skeletal muscles of older people were significantly higher than those in younger people. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the risk of sarcopenia with decreased muscle mass and strength was related to the amount of salt intake. In addition, we investigated its involvement with renalase. Four groups based on age and salt intake (“younger low-salt,” “younger high-salt,” “older low-salt,” and “older high-salt”) were compared. Stratifying by age category, body fat percentage significantly increased in high-salt groups in both younger and older people. Handgrip strength/body weight and chair rise tests of the older high-salt group showed significant reduction compared to the older low-salt group. However, there was no significant difference in renalase concentrations in plasma. The results suggest that high-salt intake may lead to fat accumulation and muscle weakness associated with sarcopenia. Therefore, efforts to reduce salt intake may prevent sarcopenia.

Japanese female pearl divers called Ama specialize in free diving in the cold sea for collecting foods and pearls in oysters. Exercising in the water combined with marked bradycardia and pressor responses provides a circulatory challenge to properly buffer or cushion elevated cardiac pulsations. Because Ama perform repeated free dives throughout their lives, it is possible that they may have adapted similar arterial structure and function to those seen in diving mammals. We compared arterial stiffness of lifelong Japanese pearl divers with age-matched physically inactive adults living in the same fishing villages. A total of 115 Japanese female pearl divers were studied. Additionally, 50 physically inactive adults as well as 33 physically active adults (participating in community fitness programs) living in the same coastal villages were also studied. There were no differences in age (∼65 yr), body mass index, and brachial blood pressure between the groups. Measures of arterial stiffness, cardio-ankle vascular index and β-stiffness index were lower (P < 0.05) in pearl divers and physically active adults than in their physically inactive peers. Augmentation pressure and augmentation index adjusted for the heart rate of 75 beats/min were lower (P < 0.05) in pearl divers than in other groups. These results indicate that lifelong Japanese pearl divers demonstrate reduced arterial stiffness and arterial wave reflection compared with age-matched physically inactive peers living in the same fishing villages.

This study, employing an exercise versus control crossover design, was conducted to investigate the influence of acute high-intensity exercise on salivary nitric oxide (NO) levels. Nine healthy males (aged 23.8 ± 1.4 years) performed ergometer exercise at 80%V • O 2peak for 60 min, whereas controls sat at rest for 60 min.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of habitual exercise on urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP), which can reflect the degree of various stresses on renal proximal tubule related to the progression of renal disease, in middle-aged and older adults. Cross-sectional and interventional approaches were used to comprehensively achieve this purpose. In the cross-sectional study, we investigated the relationship between physical activity levels and urinary L-FABP levels in 130 middle-aged and older adults. In the interventional study, subjects (n=31) were divided into two groups: exercise (n=19) and control group (n=12), whereby we examined the effects of 12-week aerobic exercise training on urinary L-FABP levels.The cross-sectional study showed that the urinary L-FABP levels were significantly lower in the higher physical activity group than in the lower physical activity group (P<.05). In the interventional study, 12-week aerobic exercise training significantly decreased urinary L-FABP levels (P<.01). Furthermore, the relative changes in urinary L-FABP levels were significantly correlated with the relative changes in physical activity levels and mean arterial pressure after intervention (r=−.374 and r=.530, respectively). Our results revealed that the urinary L-FABP levels were lower in the higher physical activity individuals, and aerobic exercise training decreased urinary L-FABP levels. These results suggest that habitual exercise appears to be associated with a decrease in the degree of several stresses on renal proximal tubule and to be beneficial for kidney health in middle-aged and older adults. K E Y W O R D Saerobic exercise training, exercise habituation, kidney, renoprotective effect, tubular biomarker

Background. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a known risk factor for diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and sarcopenia in older patients. Because there may be an interaction between DKD and sarcopenia, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between urinary levels of liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) and sarcopenia using a novel rat model of T2D. Methods. Male spontaneously diabetic Torii (SDT) fatty rats (n=5) at 16 weeks of age were used as an animal model of T2D. Age- and sex-matched Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (n=7) were used as controls. Urine samples were obtained from the rats, and muscle strength was evaluated with the use of the forelimb grip test at 16, 20, and 24 weeks of age. Serum, kidney, soleus, and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle samples were collected at 24 weeks of age. Urinary L-FABP levels were measured using dedicated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results. Increased urinary L-FABP levels, focal glomerular sclerosis, moderate interstitial inflammation and fibrosis, and accumulation of renal oxidative proteins were significantly observed in the SDT fatty rats, compared to the SD rats. Muscle weight, muscle strength, cross-sectional areas of both type I and type IIb muscle fibers, and increasing rate of muscle strength were significantly decreased in the SDT fatty rats compared to the SD rats at 24 weeks. Urinary L-FABP levels at 20 and 24 weeks were significantly negatively correlated with muscle strength. Urinary L-FABP levels at 16 weeks were significantly negatively correlated with the increasing rate of muscle strength. Conclusions. Urinary L-FABP reflects the degree of muscle strength and weight, as well as cross-sectional areas of muscle fibers. Although further clinical study is needed, urinary L-FABP may be useful to monitor the progression of sarcopenia and DKD in T2D patients.

BackgroundAs arterial stiffness increases in the absence of subjective symptoms, a personal indicator that reflects increased risk of cardiovascular disease is necessary. Penile erection is regulated by vascular function, and atherosclerosis affects the penile artery earlier than it affects the coronary and carotid arteries. Therefore, we hypothesized that deterioration of erectile function could be a marker of increased risk for cardiovascular disease. To test our hypothesis, we assessed erectile function and arterial stiffness in a cross‐sectional study.Methods and ResultsCarotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), brachial‐ankle PWV, femoral‐ankle PWV, and arterial stiffness gradient (PWV ratio: carotid‐femoral PWV/femoral‐ankle PWV) were measured as indexes of central, systemic, and peripheral arterial stiffness and peripheral organ damage, respectively, in 317 adult men. In addition, erectile function was assessed by using the questionnaire International Index of Erectile Function 5 (a descending score indicates worsening of erectile function). The scores of male sexual function were inversely correlated with carotid‐femoral PWV (r s=−0.41), brachial‐ankle PWV (r s=−0.35), femoral‐ankle PWV (r s=−0.19), and PWV ratio (r s=−0.33). Furthermore, multivariate linear regression analyses revealed that International Index of Erectile Function 5 scores were significantly associated with carotid‐femoral PWV (β=−0.22) and PWV ratio (β=−0.25), but not with brachial‐ankle PWV and femoral‐ankle PWV.ConclusionsOur results indicated that erectile function is independently associated with central arterial stiffness and peripheral organ damage. These findings suggest that male sexual function could be an easily identifiable and independent marker of increased central arterial stiffness and peripheral organ damage.