title: Whole-body periodic acceleration enhances brachial endothelial function.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Periodic acceleration in the direction of the spinal axis through repetitive movement increases the shear stress on the vascular endothelium. In the present study it was assessed whether whole-body periodic acceleration with a new device would enhance endothelial function in sedentary adult volunteers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six sedentary subjects (44+/-3 years) were randomly assigned to remain sedentary or perform exercise training for 4 weeks, followed by crossover. Periodic acceleration was applied with a horizontal motion platform at 2-3 Hz and approximately +/-2.2 m/s2 for 45 min. Increases in the brachial artery diameter were examined at rest, during reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated dilatation: %FMD) and after sublingual administration of 0.3 mg nitroglycerin (%NTG) using high-resolution ultrasound. All subjects completed the study with no adverse side-effects. There were no significant changes in the resting heart rate or arterial pressure, body weight, or lipid profiles during the study. Although %FMD did not change during the non-training period with periodic acceleration, it significantly increased from 7.3+/-0.4% at baseline to 8.4+/-0.4% after the training period (p<0.05), while %NTG remained unchanged.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whole-body periodic acceleration with a horizontal motion platform improved vascular endothelial function in sedentary adults. This device might offer an alternative to active exercise for patients whose medical condition limits physical activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa, Otsu 520-2192, Japan. tetsuyam@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tarutani
authors.forename: Tetsunobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamane
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nakae
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horie
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000328:Adult; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D006801:Humans; D006940:Hyperemia; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D005996:Nitroglycerin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014664:Vasodilation
chemical_list: D005996:Nitroglycerin