title: Increasing physical education in high school students: effects on concentration of circulating endothelial progenitor cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Levels of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), that can be increased by regular exercise, correlate with vascular function. In the context of primary prevention, the impact of regular physical activity on the amount and function of EPC has not yet been investigated in school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four sixth grade classes of high school students (n=92) were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG) with daily physical exercise (45 min) at school or to the control group (CG) with conventional physical education (PE) (2 h/week). In addition, one sixth grade class at a high school focused on competitive sports (PE) served as a reference group. After 1 school year, exercise capacity and the amount and function of EPCs were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 1 year, a significantly higher Vo2max was evident in the intervention group. Nevertheless, exercise capacity did not reach the level of children from PE. In addition, exercise intervention was successful in increasing the amount of EPCs but failed to increase the migratory capacity of the cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The result of this study shows, that intensified, supervised school sports leads to an increase in exercise capacity and EPCs in children. Nevertheless, its effect on primary prevention in cardiovascular disease has to be proven in further longitudinal studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Heart Center, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. waltherc@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bothur
authors.forename: Kati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Drechsler
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fikenzer
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sonnabend
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bublitz
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Körner
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erbs
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Busse
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schuler
mesh_terms: D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002452:Cell Count; D002465:Cell Movement; D002648:Child; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D015444:Exercise; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D011322:Primary Prevention; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34