Impact of combined exercise training on cardiovascular autonomic control and mortality in diabetic ovariectomized rats

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of aerobic, resistance, or combined exercise training on cardiovascular autonomic control and mortality in diabetic ovariectomized rats. Female Wistar rats were divided into one of five groups: euglycemic sedentary (ES), diabetic ovariectomized sedentary (DOS), diabetic ovariectomized aerobic-trained (DOTA), diabetic ovariectomized resistance-trained (DOTR), or diabetic ovariectomized aerobic+resistance-trained (DOTC). Arterial pressure (AP) was directly recorded and baroreflex sensitivity was evaluated by heart rate responses to AP changes. Cardiovascular autonomic modulation was evaluated by spectral analyses. No differences were observed in body weight and glycemia between diabetic rats. Animals in the DOTC and DOTA groups exhibited an increase in running time, whereas animals in the DOTC and DOTR groups showed greater strength. Trained groups exhibited improvement in total power and the high-frequency band of pulse interval and reduced mortality (vs. DOS). Animals in the DOTC (bradycardic and tachycardic responses) and DOTA (tachycardic responses) groups exhibited attenuation in baroreflex dysfunction that was observed in DOS and DOTR animals, and an improvement in AP variance. In conclusion, all training protocols led to reduced mortality, which may be due to an increase in physical capacity and to cardiovascular and autonomic benefits following training, regardless of any improvement in glycemic control. In this model, the aerobic and combined trainings seem to promote additional cardiovascular autonomic benefits when compared with resistance training alone.