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INVESTIGATION ON THE IMMUNOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Views:555Introduction: Effects of physical activity on immune functions may largely depend on the type of activity, its intensity and duration. However, little information is available regarding the immunological effects of sporting activities in older ages.
The aim of our study was to examine the changes in a wide spectrum of lymphocyte subtypes after a period of regular workout among healthy women of different ages.
Methods: In our study, we enrolled 16 elderly women (between ages of 60-75 years) formerly not engaged in regular physical activity, who took part in lightweight conditioning gymnastic exercise program. Eight young athletes and 26 young adults with sedentary lifestyle served as controls. The percentages of peripheral NK, NKT cells, T and B lymphocyte subtypes were determined by flow cytometry based on the staining of extracellular markers and intracellular cytokines.
Results: Lymphocyte subgroups did not differ between the groups of young athletes and young adults with sedentary lifestyle. However, in elderly women, levels of NKT cells were lower, while ratios of T helper / T cytotoxic cells were higher compared to younger individuals. At the end of exercise program, in elderly women, percentages of naive B cells decreased, while levels of switched-memory B cells increased. Furthermore, proportions of Th2 cells increased, while levels of immunosuppressive CD4+CD127-CD25bright Treg cells decreased as the result of regular exercise.
Conclusion: Differences observed after lightweight exercise programs reflect a presumably enhanced immunoreactivity and increased ability for immune responses in older ages.
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NIGHT-TIME DYSPNEA EPISODES AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY
Views:367Purpose: We wanted to assess the values of expected night-time and day-time variability of the heart rate, in the presence of dyspnea episodes during night-time, recorded by a Holter monitor.
Objective: Our aim was to investigate whether nocturnal breathing disorders affect the HRV indexes.
Methods: 40 patients participated in our survey. 20 of them experienced episodes of night-time breathing difficulty, and the control group consisted of 20 participants in whose case there were no episodes of night-time breathing difficulty. We were examining the domains of time and frequency of heart rate variability, using day-time and night-time values recorded by a 24-hour Schiller Medilog Holter monitor. We evaluated the distribution of the parameters with a continuous codomain, their typical distribution and expected values on histograms, and summarized them in a table. For the examination of the difference in averages the Two-Sample T- Test was used, where p<0.05.
Results: The vegetative equilibrium ratio and the standard deviation of the R-R intervals showed a significant difference between the apnea patients and the healthy group at night. Examining the severity of apnea, we didn't find significant difference between the two groups in the mean of the time and frequency indices, however, a decrease in the values of the apnea group was observed compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Night differences in the vegetative equilibrium rate and time parameters of the apnea patients and the control group, as well as differences in the HRV index recorded by the change in the severity of the disease, draw attention to the importance of the HRV indicators with HOLTER monitors.