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Effects of eccentric exercise on systemic concentrations of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandin (E2): comparison between young and postmenopausal women

European Journal of Applied Physiology volume 112, pages 3205–3213 (2012)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 22 May 2012

Abstract

The present study aimed to analyze the magnitude of muscle damage and inflammatory responses induced by eccentric exercise in young (YW) and postmenopausal women (PMW). Seventeen healthy women (nine YW, 23.89 ± 2.03 years; and eight PMW, 51.13 ± 5.08 years) performed five sets of six maximal eccentric actions of the elbow flexors. Changes in isometric strength, range of motion, muscle soreness, and upper-arm circumference were evaluated pre, post, 24, 48, and 72 h following eccentric exercise. Changes in creatine kinase activity, interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were measured pre, 24, 48, and 72 h following eccentric exercise. For intra and inter-group analysis, a two-way repeated measures ANOVA was applied followed by a Tukey’s post hoc test. Pearson’s correlation was used to analyze the correlations between variables. It was observed no differences between groups for the markers of muscle damage, although significant modifications (p < 0.05) occurred within groups throughout time for all variables. Post menopausal women showed significantly higher values for TNF-α (p < 0.05). Also, IL-6 presented superior pre value for PMW. For YW, IL-6 and IL-10 values increased 72 h post-eccentric exercise compared to pre. Further, IL-10 was higher for YW than PMW 72 h post-eccentric exercise. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were found between age and soreness, and between age and PGE2. In conclusion, YW do not have attenuated muscle damage compared to PMW who do not make use of hormonal replacement therapy. In addition, YW have a greater anti-inflammatory response after eccentric exercise compared to PMW.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express gratitude for the extracurricular project of weight training and fitness (Faculty of Physical Education of State University of Campinas—UNICAMP) and the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development of Brazil (CNPq) for the financial support to the present research. Also the authors would like to show appreciation to the volunteers that participated on this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Exercise Physiology, (FISEX), Faculty of Physical Education (FEF), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

    Miguel Soares Conceição, Cleiton Augusto Libardi, Felipe Romano Damas Nogueira, Valéria Bonganha, Arthur Fernandes Gáspari, Mara Patrícia Traina Chacon-Mikahil, Cláudia Regina Cavaglieri & Vera Aparecida Madruga

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  1. Miguel Soares Conceição
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  2. Cleiton Augusto Libardi
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  3. Felipe Romano Damas Nogueira
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  4. Valéria Bonganha
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  5. Arthur Fernandes Gáspari
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  6. Mara Patrícia Traina Chacon-Mikahil
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  8. Vera Aparecida Madruga
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Correspondence to Miguel Soares Conceição.

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Communicated by Susan A. Ward.

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Conceição, M.S., Libardi, C.A., Nogueira, F.R.D. et al. Effects of eccentric exercise on systemic concentrations of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandin (E2): comparison between young and postmenopausal women. Eur J Appl Physiol 112, 3205–3213 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2292-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2292-6

Keywords

  • Eccentric actions
  • Muscle damage
  • Creatine kinase
  • Postmenopausal women
  • Inflammation