Influence of 3 Months Endurance Training on Red Cell Deformability in Non Insulin Dependent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to examine if 3 months of bicycle endurance training alters the red cell deformability in non insulin dependent type 2 diabetes mellitus men.The red cell deformability was measured with the Laser assisted optical rotational cell analyzer. The maximal elongation index and the semimaximal shear stress were measured with the Lineweaver Burke model.At the beginning and the end of the intervention the patients passed a bicycle ergometry test. As a reference group, 13 males without diabetes passed the same testing procedure. Blood samplings were taken before testing, immediately after physical exhaustion and after a 30 min recovery phase.After the training period diabetic patients could significantly reduce BMI, fasting glucose and HbA1c. The reference group had significantly higher elongation indices than the diabetes patients independent from training status. After the training period the basal values of the maximal elongation index did not change significantly. However, maximal elongation indices were significantly reduced after physical examination and in resting time.The semimaximal shear stress of diabetes patients did not alter during the training period. In comparison to the reference group semimaximal shear stress was significantly reduced at all measurement times.This pilot study proves that the maximal elongation index is significantly decreased in diabetes mellitus patients. After 3 months endurance training the red cells become more rigid while the semimaximal shear stress remains constant. Further interventions are required to analyze the exact cause of the presented findings.