Cardioprotective effects of aerobic training in diabetic rats: Reducing cardiac apoptotic indices and oxidative stress for a healthier heart.

Background: The present study evaluated the effects of aerobic training with variable intensities on apoptotic indices of cardiac tissue in fatty diabetic rats.

Methods: Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into non-diabetic (ND, n=8), trained diabetic (TD, n=8), and control diabetic (CD, n=8) groups. Following a high-fat dietary regimen, type 2 diabetes was induced by streptozotocin, with blood glucose levels above 300 mg/dL considered indicative of diabetes. The TD group underwent aerobic exercise five times a week for six weeks. Subsequently, measurements were taken for left ventricular end-diastolic (LVEDV) and end-systolic volumes (LVESV), ejection fraction (EF%), catalase, caspase-9, P53, glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR.

Results: Aerobic training led to a significant decrease in blood glucose levels (P < 0.01), caspase-9 (P < 0.05), HOMA-IR (P < 0.05), and P53 expression (P < 0.001) compared with the CD group. LVEDV and LVESV decreased significantly (P < 0.05 for both), while LVEF increased significantly (P < 0.05). Catalase activation showed an insignificant increase in the TD group pre- to post-training compared to CD.

Conclusion: Incremental aerobic exercise training (6 weeks) may exert a cardioprotective effect in diabetic rats by reducing apoptosis and oxidative stress indices, while simultaneously increasing aerobic fitness and reducing body weight.