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Biomedical subjects

C M Tipton

Publications and source records attributed to C M Tipton.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Influence of streptozotocin-induced diabetes and insulin on the functional capacity of rats.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to three groups designated as diabetic, diabetic-plus-insulin, and control and tested for maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) and maximum heart rate on three different occasions during the 6- to 8-wk experimental period. Compared with the prediabetic values and the means of the other two groups, diabetic animals had significantly higher submaximum and lower maximum VO2 values. These relationships prevailed when the groups were evaluated in terms of ml.kg-1.min-1 or ml.(kg0.79-1).min-1. In addition, the diabetic animals had significantly lower submaximum and maximum heart rates and shorter run times. Daily injections of insulin (2 U.day-1.rat-1) restored VO2max to within the limits of the control animals but did not normalize heart rates or run-time values. The linear relationship between heart rates and VO2 was repeatedly demonstrated with normal animals. However, this relationship progressively declined with the time course of diabetes. These results indicate that, in untreated diabetes, functional capacity is markedly reduced with the progression of the disease and suggest that alterations in the autonomic nervous system, tissue metabolic capacity, and decreases in lean body mass are responsible for the changes noted.

Animals↗

Role of fascia in maintenance of muscle tension and pressure.

The effect of fasciotomy on muscle tension (measured by a force transducer attached to the tendon) and interstitial fluid pressure (measured by Wick catheters in the muscle belly) was studied in the anterolateral compartments of 13 dog hindlimbs. Muscle tension and pressure were monitored in the tibialis cranialis muscle after low- and high-frequency stimulation of the peroneal nerve to produce twitch- and tetanic-type contractions. Fasciotomy decreased muscle force during the low-frequency stimulation by 16% (35.3 +/- 4.9 to 28.4 +/- 3.9 N) and during the high-frequency stimulation by 10% (60.8 %/- 4.9 to 54.8 +/- 3.9 N). Muscle pressure decreased 50% after fasciotomy under both conditions, 15 +/- 2 to 6 +/- 1 mmHg and 84 +/- 17 to 41 +/- 8 mmHg), respectively. Repeated functional evaluations during the testing procedure indicated that muscle fatigue was not a major factor in these results. It was concluded that fascia is important in the development of muscle tension and changes in interstitial pressure. Furthermore, the results raised questions concerning the merits of performing a fasciotomy for athletes with a compartment syndrome.

Animals↗

Physical activity and its influence on the repair process of medial collateral ligaments.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether alterations in physical activity would modify the repair process of ligaments as evaluated by tissue DNA, collagen synthesis, and tensile strength. Compared to immobilization, progressive exercise markedly enhanced the healing process by inducing a more rapid return of tissue DNA, collagen synthesis, and separation force to within "normal" limits. Exercise also significantly increased wet and dry weights of repaired ligaments whereas immobilization markedly decreased these measurements because of the change in total collagen content. However, it remains uncertain whether progressive exercise can cause a shift in the equilibrium rates between collagen synthesis and collagen degradation.

Animals↗

Femur-bending properties as influenced by gravity: IV. Limits after high and low weight-bearing.

Gravity enhances femur growth as measured in terms of strength sigma u, but shows little or even a growth-retarding effecting in terms of "relative brittleness," defined as the inverse 1/epsilon u of ultimate or tolerable strain. Chronic weightlessness was simulated by harness suspension or by extrapolation of results from 3-G centrifugation. Experimental results from 45 male, white rats (34-520 d old) were compared to 72 control or baseline rats (28-520 d old) white correction for age and size differences. After suspension, the youngest rats showed subnormal epsilon u. Combined results, however, although predicting 19 +/- 1% below normal sigma u, after a week of weightlessness, predicted less effect (1 +/- 4%) for epsilon u.

Animals↗

Maximum oxygen consumption of rats and its changes with various experimental procedures.

A ten-stage treadmill test was developed and standardized to secure the VO2max of male and female rats assigned to various cross-sectional and longitudinal experimental groups. Repeated measurements indicated that the test procedure was reliable and could be used for research purposes. When the test was used with different strains, the untrained Sprague-Dawley rats had significantly higher VO2max values than animals of the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) or the Okamoto-Aoki (SHR) strains. Exercise schedules were evaluated that were similar to those previously used by various investigators and it was found that most were exercising their rats at levels exceeding 75% VO2max. After 6--10 wk of chronic exercise, significant increases in VO2max occurred that ranged between 12 and 26%. Longitudinal studies (1 yr) with hypertensive (SHR) rats revealed that it was more desirable to logarithmically evaluate the relationship between VO2max and body mass than by the conventional method of ml . kg-1 . min-1. When this approach was used with SHR animals, the VO2max differences between the sexes were not apparent until the animals were 1 yr of age. On the other hand, training by male SHR rats caused significant increases in VO2max regardless of the method used to express the results. It is recommended that future studies designed to elucidate exercise mechanisms in rats should include a standardized VO2max test.

Age Factors↗

Physical activity and hypophysectomy on the aerobic capacity of ligaments and tendons.

Traditionally, ligaments and tendons (L and T) have been regarded as metabolically inert structures. However, sufficient biochemical evidence on the metabolism of collagen has indicated that such a concept is no longer tenable. To determine whether L and T respond to increased or decreased levels of chronic exercise, studies were undertaken to measure their aerobic capacities. For comparative purposes, similar measurements were obtained from liver and skeletal muscles secured from normal and hypophysectomized male rats. Oxygen consumption and cytochrome oxidase (CO) activity was recorded from cell suspensions that had been prepared with the inclusion of collagenase and with elastase added to the medium. The O2 results showed that L and T had values that were approximately 10 times lower than liver tissue and 7.5 times less than the means from skeletal muscles. Hypophysectomy caused marked reductions in O2 uptake of liver and muscle tissues; but had no impact on L and T. When CO activity of these connective tissues were evaluated, immobilization and hypophysectomy caused significant reductions that ranged from -36% to -59% respectively. Training, on the other hand, resulted in increases of less than 10% in the activity of this enzyme within L and T while being elevated in muscle tissue by 58%. It was concluded that the metabolic activity of L and T was lowered with decreased levels of physical activity but it was unclear why chronic exercise did not produce the opposite effect.

Animals↗

Effects of exercise training on coronary reactive hyperemia and blood flow in the dog.

The reactive hyperemic responses to 10-s coronary occlusions were studied in seven sedentary-control (C) and eight exercise-trained (T) anesthetized dogs, with electromagnetic flowmeters placed on the left anterior descending coronary artery. Radiolabeled microspheres (9 +/- 0.8 micron) were used to measure resting coronary flow per gram and to study the effects of isoproterenol infusion (ISO) (1 mg/kg-min) on total and regional coronary flow. Base-line coronary flow per 100 g was significantly greater in the T dogs (122 +/- 7) than in C dogs (100 +/- 4). During ISO, T and C coronary resistances did not differ significantly, whereas the effects of ISO on total and regional coronary flow were quite different in T dogs as compared to C dogs. C and T hyperemic flow debt repayments did not differ significantly; however, the peak reactive hyperemic flow in T dogs (344 +/- 12%) was significantly greater than the control (306 +/- 10%). Since resting coronary flow per gram was greater in T dogs, the greater peak reactive hyperemic flow implies that T dogs have an increased coronary reserve. Although the mechanisms involved are unclear, the results of this study indicate that chronic exercise training may have beneficial effects on coronary physiology.

Animals↗

Influence of age and sex on the strength of bone-ligament junctions in knee joints of rats.

The bone-ligament junction strength of femur-medial collateral ligament-tibia complexes in rats was measured in situ at various ages during a two-year period. Male rats had a higher junction strength than female rats, a difference that became apparent when the animals were sixty days old and in male but not female animals subsequently paralleled the changes in body weight. However, on a bodyweight basis, the junctions were stronger in female than in male rats and this sex difference was evident at fifteen days old and persisted thereafter. Regression analysis between body weight and junction strength indicated that female rats had a significantly higher slope than males, which suggested that the sex differences were due to a hormonal factor or factors. Other measurements showed that elastic stiffness, failure energy, and collagen concentration in the ligament increased, whereas the water content of the ligament decreased with age. Most of these changes could be attriubted to the aging process and not the sex of the animal. It was concluded, however, that the strength of the insertion sites of ligaments on bones are responsive to the hormonal fluctuations that occur with aging.

Age Factors↗

Cardiac glycogen repletion after exercise: influence of synthase and glucose 6-phosphate.

Previous studies have shown that cardiac glycogen content is replenished to supranormal levels after exercise. To better understand this phenomenon glycogen synthase (GS) %I activity as well as glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P) and glycogen (G) concentrations were measured in hearts from normal and alloxan diabetic rats killed at various time intervals before or after a treadmill run to exhaustion. In normal animals at exhaustion G was reduced but GS %I and G-6-P were elevated. During 2-8 h of recovery G was elevated, %I depressed, and G-6-P unchanged when compared to their preexercise values. By contrast, diabetic hearts that had elevated G and low %I were characterized by abnormally high G-6-P concentrations. At exhaustion in these hearts %I increased significantly in response to a decrease in G. These findings suggest that glycogen repletion occurs in normal heart as a result of the combined increases in GS %I and G-6-P levels present at the cessation of work. In both normal and diabetic hearts there exists an inverse relationship between G content and GS %I activity.

Animals↗

Response of immunosympathectomized rats to training.

The influence of chronic exercise was investigated with male rats assigned to normal (N) and sympathectomized (IS) groups. Animals in the latter group were injected daily for 5 days with the antiserum to the nerve growth factor beginning 24 h after birth. Training was introduced when the animals were 35--45 days old and lasted for 12 wk. The exercise program used by both groups was progressive in nature and modified in accordance with the performance capability of the IS animals. When IS and N rats performed a standardized treadmill test, the IS rats had significantly higher rectal temperatures than normal animals. Significant training differences were observed in resting heart rate and in mean blood pressures, but only in the N animals. However, both trained groups exhibited significantly less vasoconstricting ability to conditions of lower body negative pressure than their nontrained controls. Varied doses of epinephrine and norepinephrine were injected into both groups and training per se had no significant influence on the responses recorded. However, both IS group had changes which indicated that a supersensitivity to catecholamines had occurred. Although selective training adaptations can occur without sympathetic nerves, it was concluded that an intact nervous system was essential for maximal training effects to occur.

Animals↗

Influence of training on myocardial responses of rats subjected to conditions of ischaemia and hypoxia.

Physical training has been advocated to minimize the problems associated with coronary heart disease; however, the responsible mechanisms are obscure. Rats trained to run on a treadmill were subjected to acute conditions of hypoxia and myocardial ischaemia. Trained rats were better able to maintain a higher level of cardiac performance (dP/dt max) after hypoxia than non-trained rats, but no advantages were apparent after ischaemia. Biochemical data showed no myocardial differences between the groups in oxygen utilization or energy availability.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗