Objectives The present study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D and resistance training in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus and vitamin D deficiency. Design This study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical trial. Trial registration code: IRCT20190204042621N1 Participants Forty-eight patients with type 2 diabetes aged 40-65 (from a total of 52 volunteers in Ardabil diabetes clinic) were randomly assigned to either the vitamin D supplementation with resistance training group (VD + RT: n = 12), the resistance training group (RT: n = 12), the vitamin D supplementation group (VD: n = 12), or the control group (CON: n = 12). Intervention The subjects in VD group took vitamin D supplements at 50000 IU per 2 weeks for 3 months; the subjects in RT group exercised 3 times per week for 12 weeks; and the subjects in VD + RT group participated in both treatments. Subjects in CON group were asked to maintain normal daily life pattern for the duration of the study. Measurements Serum Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were determined at pre and post-test and the data were compared among the four groups and between two tests (4 × 2) using two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Results IL-6 decreased significantly (P = 0.001) in all groups (VD + RT = %-71.73, RT = %-65.85, VD = %-61.70). TNF-α decreased significantly (P = 0.001) in VD + RT (%-44.90) and RT (%-40) groups. CRP showed no significant change in any group (P > 0.05). Conclusion Results demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation in addition to resistance training had positive effects on some inflammatory markers in T2D and vitamin D deficient men. Vitamin D supplementation was especially effective when it was complemented with exercise training.

Applying several energy systems and concurrent performing of various training models have a more effective role in preventing precocious occurrence of many diseases compared to training single energy system. This can be seen in case of physiologic and metabolic adaptations of the human body too. The present study attempted to investigate the effect of endurance, resistance and concurrent (endurance-resistance) training on pre-inflammatory cytokines in overweight men. Accordingly, 43 healthy overweight (BMI = 28.56 ± 2.67) young (23.7 ± 3.3 yr) students were volunteered to participate and randomly divided into three experimental (n = 11) and one control (n = 10) groups. The experimental groups performed 3 days/wk endurance, resistance and concurrent training for 8 weeks. Also, prior to and after the training, a blood sample was collected from the subjects in order to measure pre-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1b, IL-6 and TNF-a). Following 8 week training, repeated measure ANOVA results showed a significant difference in IL-1b (P = 0.046) and IL-6 (P = 0.009) compared to baseline. However, this was not the case with the TNF-a. Furthermore, between group comparisons showed significant difference in IL-6 (P = 0.020) between endurance and resistance groups. Within group comparisons (depended t student test) also showed a significant difference in IL-1b and IL-6 of endurance and concurrent groups compared to baseline. Generally, it can be concluded that endurance and concurrent exercise training in part has a positive effect on pre-inflammatory cytokines.

Background: As an age-related disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by memory loss and cognitive impairment. Although oxidative stress factors increase in AD, exercise and nutrition can have protective and antioxidant effects. This study aimed to explore the antioxidant effects of swimming training (ST) and royal jelly (RJ) consumption in the hippocampus tissue of rats with AD. Methods: In this experimental study, 20 rats with AD were selected and divided into four groups, including control, ST, RJ, and ST+RJ. In order to probe the effects of AD induction on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), five healthy rats were assigned into the healthy control group. For eight weeks, the ST groups performed ST three times per week (5 minutes in the first week to 60 minutes in the last week), and the RJ groups received 100 mg/kg RJ per day. The Shapiro-Wilk, independent samples t test, and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were used to analyze the findings (P≤0.05). Results: AD induction had a significant effect on increasing SOD (P=0.04) and decreasing GPx (P=0.001). Also, ST (P=0.001) and RJ (P=0.01) had a significant effect on increasing GPx; ST (P=0.001) and RJ (P=0.001) had a significant effect on decreasing SOD. Furthermore, ST with RJ had an interactive effect on increasing GPx (P=0.03) and decreasing SOD (P=0.001). Conclusion: In general, ST and RJ appear to simultaneously improve the gene expression of antioxidants in the hippocampus tissue of AD rats. In addition, the antioxidant effects of ST were more favorable than those of RJ. It appears that different doses of RJ should also be considered.

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common causes of dementia with metabolic disorders in the nervous system. Nutrition and physical activity are two main factors in the management of this disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of endurance training with crocin consumption on IGF-1 and glycogen expression in rat hippocampus tissue of a trimethyltin-treated model of Alzheimer's disease. Methods: In this experimental study, 30 male rats were selected and divided into 5 groups of 6 rats including (1) healthy control, (2) Alzheimer's control, (3) endurance training, (4) crocin and (5) endurance training with crocin. At first, rats in groups 2 -5 were induced Alzheimer's disease by intraperitoneal injection of 8 mg/kg of trimethyltin. Then, during 8 weeks, rats in groups 3, 5, ran on treadmill for 3 sessions per week, each session 15 -30 minutes at speeds of 15 -20 m/min and groups 4 and 5 received 25 mg/kg of crocin daily. The results were analyzed by Shapiro-Wilk test and one-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc (P ≤ 0.05).Results: Alzheimer's induction with trimethyltin had a significant effect on reduction of IGF-1 gene expression (P = 0.001) and glycogen (P = 0.001); endurance training had a significant effect on increase of IGF-1 (P = 0.001) and glycogen (P = 0.001); crocin consumption had no significant effect on IGF-1 (P = 0.48) and glycogen (P = 0.39); endurance training with crocin consumption had significant effect on increase of IGF-1 (P = 0.001) and glycogen (P = 0.02) as well as endurance training (P = 0.001) and endurance training with crocin consumption rather than crocin consumption had significant effect on increase of IGF-1. Conclusions: Although endurance training results in a significant increase in IGF-1 and glycogen in the hippocampus tissue of Alzheimer's rats, nonetheless, the use of crocin in combination with endurance training rather than crocin consumption alone can have a greater effect on increased IGF-1 content of the hippocampus in rats with Alzheimer's.

Background and aims: One of the main potential problems of radiotherapy (RT) in breast cancer is the increase in treatment-related inflammation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic training (AT) on serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in rats undergoing RT. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 32 male rats were randomly divided into four groups of eight members including (1) healthy control (C), (2) AT, (3) RT, and (4) AT + RT groups. Rats were first anesthetized with ketamine-xylazine solution (K, 60-90 kg/mg; Z, 6-10 kg/mg) and then located on a Plexiglas plate with a thickness of 1 cm. Photon beam RT was performed using X-rays with a dose of 11 Gy from an Elekta compact linear accelerator (Elekta Compact 6-MV China). AT program was performed for eight weeks, five days a week, and one session a day for 60 minutes (70-75% of VO2max). Afterwards, one-way ANOVA was run to examine the research variables. Results: According to the results, TNF-α was significantly higher in the RT group compared to the C group (P=0.003), whereas IL-6 levels were significantly lower in the AT + RT group compared to the RT group (P=0.001) and the C group (P=0.027). Further, the levels of this cytokine were significantly lower in the AT group compared to the RT group (P=0.006) and similarly in the RT group compared to the C group (P=0.03). Conclusion: RT led to an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines; however, performing AT could only significantly reduce the IL-6 levels.