Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of training on endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after revascularization and healthy young men. Background: Impaired endothelial function has been observed in patients with CAD and those with CAD risk factors. Studies have shown that exercise can enhance endothelial function. Methods: This experimental crosssectional study was conducted on patients with CAD (3 months after CABG and PCI) and students of medical school in 2011. Endothelium dependent dilation of the brachial artery was determined by using high-resolution vascular ultrasonography through flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD) after induction of ischemia, and the data were analyzed using SPSS, dependent ttest and ANCOVA. Findings: The findings showed that at baseline, FMD was reduced in revascularized patients, when compared with healthy young men, after 8 weeks, and exercise training significantly improved FMD in patients underwent training group [from 4.31 ± 1.45 (SD)% to 6.15 ± 0.773 (SD)%, p < 0.05] and substantially increased the same in healthy young men [from 9.18% ± 1.45% to 11.72% ± 1.72%, p < 0.05] However, in the control group, the FMD remained unchanged, and even after aerobic training, it did not significantly modify the brachial artery diameter in these groups. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that endothelial dysfunction persisting in CAD patients after revascularization and aerobic training can improve endothelial function in different vascular beds in CAD patients and healthy young men. This may contribute to the benefit of regular exercise in preventing and restricting cardiovascular disease.

Background: Chemotherapy drugs can cause liver damage by causing hepatotoxicity. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the interactive effect of continuous training and Crocin supplementation on hepatocyte apoptosis in male rats induced by doxorubicin. Methods: In this experimental study, 40 Wistar rats were randomly assigned to: (1) Healthy, (2) doxorubicin (Dox), (3) Dox + crocin (Cr), (4) Dox + continuous training (CT), and (5) Dox + CT + Cr. Group 1 received normal saline daily; groups 2 to 5 received (7 × 2 mg/kg) Dox intraperitoneal; groups 3 and 5 received 10 mg/kg crocin orally on a daily basis, and groups 4 and 5 were trained 5 days/week (60 - 70 of maximum speed) for 8 weeks. Results: The Dox group had the highest mean percentage of apoptotic hepatocytes (64.33 ± 6.02) compared to other groups (P < 0.05). In contrast, tissue apoptosis was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in all intervention groups: Dox + CT (30.67 ± 4.04%), Dox + Cr (18 ± 2.64%), and Dox + CT + Cr (13.67 ± 1.52%); however, the improvement was greater in the group receiving crocin. Conclusions: Continuous training, Cr, and their combination significantly reduced hepatocyte apoptosis in male rats exposed to Dox-induced toxicity. However, a greater reduction in liver tissue apoptosis was recorded for the Crocin-treated groups.