PurposeAging-induced loss of muscle mass and subsequent reduction of strength is a fundamental cause of frailty, functional decline, and disability. And this may lead to muscular dysfunction, voiding dysfunction, or urinary incontinence due to pelvic muscle weakness induced by aging. Physical exercise has been recommended for the prevention and the treatment of these age-related frail states. We investigated the effects of treadmill exercise on muscle strength, myostatin mRNA and protein expression, and gastrocnemius myocytes proliferation in aged rats to investigate the possible antiaging effects of aerobic exercise on skeletal muscles such as pelvic floor muscles and urethral rhabdosphincter muscle.MethodsIn this study, 5-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used as the young-age group (n=20) and 24-month-old rats were used as the old-age group (n=20). Each group was randomly divided into two groups (n=10 in each group): the sedentary and the treadmill exercise group. The rats in the exercise groups were forced to run on a motorized treadmill for 30 minutes, once a day, for 6 weeks. For this study, a weight load test, hematoxylin and eosin staining, real-time and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for myostatin mRNA, myostatin western blot, and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine immunohistochemistry were performed in the gastrocnemius muscle.ResultsThe age-induced reduction of muscle mass and strength was associated with a decrease in myocyte proliferation and an increase in myostatin mRNA and protein expression in the gastrocnemius. However, treadmill exercise improved muscle mass and strength through suppression of myostatin mRNA and protein expression, and myocyte proliferation increase in the gastrocnemius against the aging process.ConclusionsAerobic exercise is a useful strategy for enhancing muscle function against aging-induced loss of skeletal muscle mass and functions.
PurposeAn overactive bladder (OAB) may be defined as urgency that is a sudden, compelling, difficult to defer desire to pass urine that is usually accompanied by frequency and nocturia and possibly by incontinence. Obesity and old age are two factors in various causes of OAB. Several epidemiologic studies have identified positive associations among obesity, old age, urinary incontinence, and OAB. However, although exercise has been known to improve obesity and reduce incontinent urine loss, little research has been done in elderly women. Therefore, we investigated the effects of exercise on obesity-related metabolic factors, blood lipid factors, and OAB symptoms in elderly Korean women.MethodsTwenty-one women aged between 69 and 72 years were recruited from the Seoul senior towers in Korea. All subjects worked out on a motorized treadmill and stationary cycle for 40 minutes, respectively, and performed resistance exercise for 30 minutes once a day for 52 weeks. Body composition, blood pressure, blood lipids, OAB symptom score, and King's health questionnaire were investigated and analyzed.ResultsBefore performing physical exercise, all subjects showed increased OAB symptoms in association with enhanced body mass index (BMI), percentage fat, and blood lipid profiles. However, physical exercise for 52 weeks suppressed BMI, percentage fat, and blood lipid profiles and thus improved OAB symptoms.ConclusionsWe suggest that long-term physical exercise can be a valuable tool for remarkable improvement of OAB.
The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of gross motor function and health fitness assessment tests for children with developmental disabilities. All 35 participants who took part in this study on a voluntary basis were male children (age, 10.31± 1.25 years). All selected tests for gross motor function and health fitness assessments were used in previous studies to measure basic physical health and motor abilities, which include strength (grip strength test), muscular endurance (modified sit-ups test), flexibility (sit and reach test), and cardiopulmonary endurance (15-m shuttle run test). Reliability was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients in the pretest-posttest and Bland-Altman graphs study. Pearson correlation was used to analyze convergent validity and analysis of variance was used to analyze variations among age groups. Lastly, a correlation analysis was conducted between the tests in gross motor function and health fitness assessments. This study indicates that gross motor function and health fitness assessments have obtained adequate reliability parameters and are able to determine differences in children from 9 to 12 years of age. The tests performed were simple to use, safe, and suitable for children with developmental disabilities.
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