Whole-body periodic acceleration enhances brachial endothelial function.
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.
Matsumoto
Tetsuya
T
Department of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa, Otsu 520-2192, Japan. tetsuyam@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
Fujita
Masatoshi
M
Tarutani
Yasuhiro
Y
Yamane
Tetsunobu
T
Takashima
Hiroyuki
H
Nakae
Ichiro
I
Horie
Minoru
M
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
D005996:Nitroglycerin