WEDNESDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo exercise training can restore their mitochondrial function and increase insulin sensitivity, according to a study published in the March issue of Diabetes.
Ruth C.R. Meex, of Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a study of 18 men with type 2 diabetes and 20 healthy matched male controls who underwent a 12-week program of progressive training three times a week for 45 minutes each time. Before and after training, the researchers measured mitochondrial function, insulin sensitivity, metabolic flexibility, and increased intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content.
Compared to the controls, mitochondrial function was lower among those with type 2 diabetes. After exercise training, function improved by 28 percent among the controls and by 48 percent in the diabetes group. Metabolic flexibility remained unchanged in the control group but was restored among those with diabetes. Insulin sensitivity improved in both groups, but the change was more significant among the subjects with diabetes. The training was also associated with an increase in IMCL content in the diabetes group, particularly in type 2 muscle fibers.
"The insulin-sensitizing effect of exercise training occurs in the absence of major changes in body mass and is not restricted to improved muscle insulin sensitivity but extends to improved hepatic and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity," the authors write.
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