Healthy Exercise

Persons at any age can substantially improve their fitness for work and play through appropriate exercise training. Considerable evidence indicates that physical activity is valuable for weight control, modifying lipids and improving carbohydrate tolerance. Less rigorous scientific data are available for associated long-term blood pressure and psychological changes with habitual exercise. Strenuous physical activity most likely reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease and the detrimental impact of certain chronic diseases on health. Adverse effects may result from a training program, but the major concern is the susceptibility to cardiovascular events during and immediately after exertion. To achieve optimal benefits with minimal risk, exercise must be carefully prescribed within the context of overall health and training objectives. Taken altogether, a distinct rationale exists for regular vigorous exercise as an integral part of a personal health maintenance program.     

Exercise your amyloid

The interplay of genetics and the environment in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not well understood. Now, Lazarov and coworkers show that a simple paradigm of environmental enrichment alleviates amyloid burden and alters disease-associated gene expression changes in a double transgenic mouse model of AD.     

Exercise and Obesity

This paper reviews succinctly the evidence for a role of regular exercise in the prevention and the treatment of obesity and of its metabolic complications. Seventeen propositions relevant to an understanding of the topic are considered. The evidence suggests that regular exercise can be an important factor in the development of sustained negative energy balance conditions provided the volume of activity is high. This implies a program of low to moderate intensity exercise performed on an almost daily basis for at least one hour per session. To induce significant weight and fat losses and to treat overweight and obese patients, compliance to the program for several years becomes a necessity. Exercise increases lipid substrate oxidation and may favor carbohydrate intake for the same amount of energy intake. The acute effects of exercise on resting metabolic rate are well documented, but the long-term influences of exercise training seem to be small and are rapidly suppressed with the cessation of training. The obese benefits also from a regular exercise regimen in terms of improved insulin sensitivity, lipid and lipoprotein profile, and blood pressure, as well as reduced risk of death. Regular exercise, such as walking, is a healthy course of action for the overweight or the obese patients.     

主动运动和被动运动的镇痛效果及其镇痛机制

主动运动和被动运动可以有效缓解各种急性疼痛和慢性疼痛,且主动运动诱发的镇痛效果强于运动参数相似的被动运动.文章在讨论运动镇痛机制的基础上,探讨了主、被动运动镇痛效果存在差异的原因.具体来说,通过比较两种运动传导运动信息的下行通路和传导躯体感觉/本体感觉的上行通路,论述了主、被动运动在生理(外周神经系统和中枢神经系统)和心理(情绪和认知)层面上镇痛机制的异同.由于被动运动缺少运动下行控制且肌肉激活程度小,其在外周镇痛物质含量和皮层水平上对疼痛的调控弱于主动运动.此外,被动运动相比主动运动不易诱发积极情绪,较难转移对疼痛的注意力,缺乏身体掌控感并拥有较低的身体归属感,进而导致较弱的镇痛效果.最后,文章指出了目前本领域研究的局限性,并对运动镇痛未来的研究方向和方法提出了建议.