Opioid receptors have been a target of pharmacological manipulation in alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery protocols for many years. Aerobic exercise, a common adjunct in AUD recovery, is known to modulate opioid receptors (ORs) both during both acute and long term exposure. The three subtypes of ORs: mu (MOR), delta (DOR), and kappa (KOR) are all expressed on neurons in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry. Kappa-opioid receptors are expressed directly on dopamine (DA) neuron terminals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Mu and Delta ORs are expressed on cholinergic interneurons (CINs) and GABA neurons in the NAc. In alcohol dependent rodents, KORs are hypersensitized. It is theorized that this hypersensitization contributes to EtOH seeking behavior. In contrast, aerobic exercise desensitizes the KORs. Given the high degree of pharmacological overlap between opioid receptors, it is also hypothesized that EtOH and aerobic exercise may have effects on MORs and DORs as well. Here, it is investigated whether a routine of voluntary aerobic exercise decreases EtOH induced changes to KOR modulation of dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) along with possible mechanisms through which this might occur. The responsiveness of MORs and DORs in EtOH dependence, and how aerobic exercise modulates those effects is also investigated. Exercise attenuated EtOH induced hypersensitization of KORs in the NAc. Exercise decreases expression of KORs, which may account for the changes in KOR sensitization. The MOR agonist DAMGO decreased DA reuptake ex vivo, but not signal amplitude while DOR agonist DPDPE had no effect on either reuptake or signal amplitude. Overall, dependent animals that were allowed to exercise, consumed less EtOH in a drinking in the dark model. These data suggest that exercise is a useful adjunct to AUD recovery protocols, and that its effects are likely mediated by KORs. The findings related to MORs and DORs suggest that MORs, but not DORs, may act through acetyl choline receptors to modulate DA reuptake in the NAc, however much more work is needed to characterize this effect.

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This systematic review aims to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on the neuroal basis of memory functions in healthy elderly individuals. The search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA and covered three electronic databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, for peer-reviewed published, and original research. Six studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The studies utilized various behavioral or cognitive tasks related to memory, including the Sternberg Working Memory Task, Spatial Memory tests, and neuroimaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This systematic review suggests that aerobic exercise can improve memory in healthy elderly individuals, including spatial, working, and short- and long-term memory. As revealed by neuroimaging techniques, memory function improvement was accompanied by changes in brain structure and function in memory-processing regions. These findings provide evidence that aerobic exercise can improve the neurological basis of memory function in healthy elderly individuals. The beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on memory have significant implications for the aged population. Memory loss is a common and often debilitating issue in older adults, and the ability to recall and learn new information is crucial for maintaining independence and quality of life. Therefore, aerobic exercise is a promising intervention to improve memory function in healthy elderly individuals.

Ribosomes are the essential machinery for cellular protein synthesis. Ribosome content is hypothesized to support muscle growth and is suggested that those with more ribosomes may better respond to resistance training. Aerobic training also elicits distinct physiological adaptations; however, no direct measures of ribosome content following aerobic training have been measured. Ribosomes interact with mitochondria for mitochondrial protein synthesis and import. Mitochondria may also provide cellular energy to ribosomes. We hypothesized that aerobic and resistance training would increase ribosome content and that ribosome content following aerobic training would correspond to changes in mitochondrial-related protein content and gene expression. Fourteen young men and women performed 6 weeks of single-legged aerobic followed by 10 weeks of bilateral resistance training. Muscle biopsies were taken following aerobic (Pre RT) and resistance training (Post RT) in the aerobically trained (EX) and control (CTL) legs. Pre RT, EX had greater COXIV staining intensity in Type 1 (1.17-fold; p=0.020) and Type 2 (1.22-fold; p=0.015) fibres compared to CTL; however, no differences in whole-muscle mitochondrial-related protein content or gene expression were observed (p>0.05). No differences in regulatory (UBF, Cyclin D1, TIF-1A, POLR-1B), cytosolic (45S, 5.8S, 18S, 28S rRNAs) or mitochondrial (12S rRNA) ribosome-related gene expression were observed (p>0.05), except for c-Myc (CTL>EX; p=0.034) and 5S rRNA (Pre RT CTL<Pre RT EX; p=0.076). When stratified for leg-lean soft tissue mass (LLSTM), legs with greater LLSTM had lower expression in 3/13 ribosome-related genes (p<0.10). When stratified for ΔLLSTM following resistance training, legs with the greatest ΔLLSTM had lower expression in 11/13 ribosome-related genes prior to (p<0.10) and less change or decrease in expression in 9/13 genes following resistance training (p<0.05). These results indicate that baseline ribosome content was sufficient to support aerobic adaptations (capillarization, VO2 peak) that were previously observed and that ribosome’s efficiency, rather than content, is likely more important to support increases in muscle hypertrophy following resistance training. / Thesis / Master of Science in Kinesiology / Ribosomes are essential in making proteins within the cell, and their content has been hypothesized to support the adaptive responses observed with exercise training. Ribosome content has previously been shown to increase following resistance training likely to support skeletal muscle growth. However as aerobic training also influences cellular adaptations, it is plausible that ribosome content also supports these training adaptations. We hypothesized that both aerobic and resistance training would increase ribosome content. Contrary to our hypotheses, no changes in ribosome content were observed following aerobic or resistance training despite previously observing adaptations characteristic of each respective training stimulus. However, those with the greatest increases in muscle mass had lower baseline ribosome content and less change in content following resistance training. These results suggest that baseline ribosome content is sufficient for aerobic adaptations and that ribosome’s efficiency is likely more important than content to elicit resistance training adaptations.

Background: According to the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, approximately 69% of South African women and 29% of men are considered overweight/obese. In South Africa, overweight and obesity rates are on the rise and have reached epidemic proportions. Several conventional weight loss strategies have been employed and have been unsuccessful in addressing this issue. It is for this reason that this study strives to uncover if any improvement in weight and fitness status are associated with an improvement in health status. Methods: One of our main aims were to determine the success in weight loss and reduction in health risk factors in members who have completed 18-weeks of the Healthy weight programme. Therefore, this study is a retrospective, observational study of adults with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 32.63 ± 7.39 who completed an 18-week supervised exercise program. An online health questionnaire was completed followed by pre- intervention assessments which included: Anthropometric measures (height, weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage) followed by blood pressure, finger-prick random glucose and cholesterol measurements. A 12-min motion test to assess functional capacity were completed. All anthropometric, resting health measures and fitness tests were repeated at 12-weeks (post-beginner programme) and 18 weeks (post-intervention) after the start of the intervention. The intervention included 2 weekly classes with an optional gym class. The type of exercise intervention that was included in this study largely focused resistance training and cardiorespiratory fitness which targeted multiple large muscle groups. Each exercise session included 80 to 90 % exercise intensity as well as lumbopelvic core exercises. The data set was analysed as an intention to treat (ITT) protocol as some of the testing time points were missing. Results: Out of a possible 50 participants, 34 met the inclusion criteria of at least all 3 health measures taken on the 3 different occasions (baseline, post-beginner, postintervention). The 34 participants had a mean age of 47.26 ± 10.44 ranging between 24 years and 76 years old. 65 % of the participants were female. Anthropometric results showed significant changes in weight and waist circumference at 12- and at 18-weeks compared to baseline measures (p < 0.005). Additionally, body fat % significantly reduced at 12-weeks but increased slightly at 18 weeks diminishing the significant reduction compared to the baseline measure. In terms of fitness, participants succeeded in improving their average distance to complete a 12-min motion test by 14.5% (p < 0.001) at 12-weeks and 20% (p < 0.001) at 18-weeks compared to starting measures, respectively. After adjusting for multiple comparisons during post-hoc analysis, none of the health status outcomes (blood pressure, random glucose, random cholesterol) showed a significant improvement at any of the time points. In terms of associations, a change in body fat % could significantly explain some of the variance in the change (from baseline to 18-weeks) in cholesterol; and a change in weight could significantly explain some of the variance in the change in glucose over the same intervention time. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed the 18-week supervised exercise intervention led to a modest reduction (approximately 5%) in weight and a substantial improvement in fitness. However, no changes in health status were observed, suggesting that greater improvements in weight and fitness may be required to have a profound influence on health status.

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Background: In most countries of the Western world there have been positive reductions in incidence of cardiovascular diseases in the past decades, among both men and women, but still mortality due to these disease groups are very high. Many studies about myocardial infarction have shown that depression after an event is related to poor medical outcomes from the disease. This means prolonged disability events of angina, arrhythmias, re-hospitalization and increased rate of mortality. In post myocardial infarction patients, depression is a major cause of both short and long term mortality. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the scientific literature by a systematic review in order to find evidence based knowledge about the benefit of physical activity as a tool to reduce depression in patients with coronary artery event.Method: Three databases were searched (Pubmed, CINHAL, Cochrane) systematically and all articles that met inclusion criteria were examined and graded according to the criteria “Grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendations” by Atkins. A special protocol was designed further from AMSTAR by Beverley, for systematic review with and without the meta-analysis study. Results: It was evident that scientific reports fitting to the area was scarce showing that the area of interest was fairly new. Finally ten studies were included in this study, one meta-analysis, five randomized controlled trail and four clinical trials. The results showed low to moderate evidence for the use of high, moderate and low level of exercise as a tool to reduce depression in post coronary artery event patients.Conclusion: The following study concluded that, exercise shows positive effects to reduce the level of depression among coronary artery event patients.