Inflammation and exercise (INFLAME): study rationale, design, and methods.
OBJECTIVE
The INFLAME study is designed to determine the effect of exercise training on elevated high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (CRP) concentrations in initially sedentary women and men.


METHODS
INFLAME will recruit 170 healthy, sedentary women and men with elevated CRP (>or=2.0 mg/L) to be randomized to either an exercise group or non-exercise control group. Exercising individuals will participate in four months of supervised aerobic exercise with a total energy expenditure of 16 kcal kg(-1) week(-1) (KKW). Exercise intensity will be 60-80% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2) max).


RESULTS
The primary outcome will be changed in plasma CRP concentration. Secondary outcomes include visceral adiposity, the cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha, and heart rate variability (HRV) in order to examine potential biological mechanisms whereby exercise might affect CRP concentrations.


CONCLUSIONS
INFLAME will help us understand the effects of moderate-to-vigorous exercise on CRP concentrations in sedentary individuals. To our knowledge this will be the largest training study specifically designed to examine the effect of exercise on CRP concentrations. This study has the potential to influence therapeutic applications since CRP measurement is becoming an important clinical measurement in Coronary Heart Disease risk assessment. This study will also contribute to the limited body of literature examining the effect of exercise on the variables of visceral adiposity, cytokines, and heart rate variability.
Thompson
Angela M
AM
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA.
Mikus
Catherine R
CR
Rodarte
Ruben Q
RQ
Distefano
Brandy
B
Priest
Elisa L
EL
Sinclair
Erin
E
Earnest
Conrad P
CP
Blair
Steven N
SN
Church
Timothy S
TS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D012107:Research Design; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008055:Lipids; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D002097:C-Reactive Protein