title: Exercise training alters skeletal muscle mitochondrial morphometry in heart failure patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous research has demonstrated that exercise intolerance in heart failure patients is associated with significant alterations in skeletal muscle ultrastructure and oxidative metabolism that may be more consequential than cardiac output.
  
  
  METHODS
  To examine the effect of exercise training on skeletal muscle mitochondrial size in chronic heart failure patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six heart failure patients participated in 16-weeks of supervised upper and lower extremity exercise training. At the conclusion of training, percutaneous needle biopsies of the vastus lateralis were taken and electron microscopy was used to assess mitochondrial sizes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The exercise programme resulted in a significant increase in peak maximal oxygen consumption ( P< 0.05) and anaerobic threshold (P < 0.04). Knee extension muscle force increased following training ( P< 0.02). After exercise training, the average size of the mitochondria increased by 23.4% (0.036 to 0.046 mu(2), P< 0.015) and the average shape was unaltered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exercise training with heart failure patients alters skeletal muscle morphology by increasing mitochondrial size, with no change in shape. This may enhance oxidative metabolism resulting in an increased exercise tolerance.
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, School of Allied Health, Storrs, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cosmas
authors.forename: Danial
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: Alia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morghan
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bairos
authors.forename: Sebrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Levesque
authors.forename: Ronenn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roubenoff
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hennessey
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lamont
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Manfredi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008931:Mitochondria, Muscle / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012044:Regression Analysis