Diabetes Care
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
 QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     


Published online June 22, 2007
Diabetes Care 30:2242-2244, 2007
DOI: 10.2337/dc07-0341
© 2007 by the American Diabetes Association
This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
dc07-0341v1
30/9/2242    most recent
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kadoglou, N. P.E.
Right arrow Articles by Alevizos, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kadoglou, N. P.E.
Right arrow Articles by Alevizos, M.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Clinical Care/Education/Nutrition/Psychosocial Research
Original Article

Beneficial Effects of Combined Treatment With Rosiglitazone and Exercise on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Nikolaos P.E. Kadoglou, MD1,2, Fotios Iliadis, MD1, Christos D. Liapis, MD, FACS, FRCS2, Despina Perrea, PHD3, Nikoleta Angelopoulou, MD4 and Miltiadis Alevizos, MD1

1 1st Propedeutic Department Internal Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
2 Department of Vascular Surgery, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
3 Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
4 Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Nikolaos P.E. Kadoglou, 124 Vosporou St., 54454 Thessaloniki, Greece. E-mail: nikoskad{at}yahoo.com

Abbreviations: HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance • IL, interleukin • TNF, tumor necrosis factor


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 INTRODUCTION
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--
 RESULTS
 CONCLUSIONS--
 References
 
Physical activity attenuates metabolic and cardiovascular maladaptations in diabetes by improving glycemic control, insulin resistance, cardiorespiratory fitness, and adipocytokines levels (adiponectin, resistin, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-{alpha}, and interleukin [IL]-6) (1,2). Likewise, thiazolidinediones favorably influence the above indexes (3,4). We hypothesized that the combination of exercise training and rosiglitazone, a thiazolidinedione, would confer additional benefits in the metabolic and cardiovascular profiles of diabetic patients, exceeding those of each treatment alone.


    RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—
 TOP
 INTRODUCTION
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--
 RESULTS
 CONCLUSIONS--
 References
 
A total of 100 Caucasian, overweight/obese (BMI> 25 kg/m2) patients with type 2 diabetes consented to participate. They were treated with half-maximal doses of metformin (1,700 mg) and gliclazide (180 mg) for at least 6 months, with poor glycemic control eventually occurring (A1C > 7%). Smokers and patients receiving lipid-lowering medications, insulin, or thiazolidinediones were rejected. Those with vascular complications, life-threatening diseases, orthopedic problems, and heart, liver, or renal impairment were also excluded. After baseline examination, participants were randomized to one of the following age- and sex-matched groups: 1) the control group (n = 25); 2) the exercise group (n = 25), who underwent 8 months’ exercise training; 3) the rosiglitazone group (n = 25), who had adjunctive therapy with 8 mg/day rosiglitazone; and 4) the rosiglitazone plus exercise (RSG + EX) group (n = 25), who participated in the 8-month exercise program (as in the exercise group) while simultaneously receiving treatment with 8 mg/day rosiglitazone.

The prescription of the exercise program was based on initial ergocycle testing results. Afterward, its workload was gradually increased until patients achieved 50–80% VO2max during 45–60 min sessions four times a week (5). After the fourth week, the intensity and duration of each session remained constant. Patients of the control and rosiglitazone groups were instructed to maintain their habitual activities.

Laboratory and clinical measurements
Blood samples were obtained at baseline and at the end of the study. All participants avoided any severe physical activity 48 h before measurements. Plasma adiponectin (R&D Systems), resistin (BioVendor Laboratory Medicine, Modrice, Czech Republic), insulin (DRG Diagnostics, Marburg, Germany), and IL-6 and TNF-{alpha} (Assay Designs) concentrations were assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The intra- and interassay coefficients of variation are provided by manufacturers. Insulin resistance was estimated by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (6). Samples were frozen and stored (–80°C) until analysis in the same assay. Cardiorespiratory capacity was assessed at baseline and at the end of the study with a graded symptom-limited exercise test on an electronically-braked ergocycle, using a gas-exchange analyzer (COSMED K4; COSMED, Rome, Italy) (7).

Statistical analysis
Comparison between groups of baseline and final values and changes of variables was performed by one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test (2 x 2 factorial design). Changes within groups were analyzed by Wilcoxon's signed-rank test. Normality of distribution was assessed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.


    RESULTS
 TOP
 INTRODUCTION
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--
 RESULTS
 CONCLUSIONS--
 References
 
Interventions effects
Baseline values of all variables and the concomitant medications did not differ between groups. Five patients discontinued the study because of personal reasons. In the end, 95 patients were eligible for analysis. No adverse events were reported.

Compared with that at baseline and in the exercise group, rosiglitazone treatment increased BMI significantly (P < 0.001). No substantial changes were noted in the other groups. Exercise training increased exercise capacity (VO2max) by 14.9% (P < 0.001), while rosiglitazone induced a modest (5.46%) but significant improvement in fitness compared with that both at baseline (P < 0.001) and in the control group (P = 0.031). Importantly, combined therapy remarkably increased VO2max (26.48%; P < 0.001), which exceeded the complementary effects of both interventions.

Although both rosiglitazone treatment and exercise training alone ameliorated glycemic indexes, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR (P < 0.05), the RSG + EX group elicited a more pronounced decrease of the aforementioned parameters compared with that of all of the other groups (P < 0.05) (Table 1).


View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]

 
Table 1— Results of changes in response to treatment

 
Adipocytokines
We observed considerable reduction of resistin and IL-6 levels in all of the interventions groups (P < 0.05), but greater alterations were found in the RSG + EX group. Both combined therapy and rosiglitazone treatment alone elicited significant increments of adiponectin in comparison with baseline values and the changes elicited by other groups (P < 0.05). Similarly, TNF-{alpha} was also downregulated significantly in the latter groups, and, compared with that in the control group, the change was significant only after combined treatment. Patients in the exercise group demonstrated a slight increase of adiponectin (P = 0.39) and a less marked decrease of TNF-{alpha} (P = 0.45). No adipocytokines were affected significantly in the control group.


    CONCLUSIONS—
 TOP
 INTRODUCTION
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--
 RESULTS
 CONCLUSIONS--
 References
 
In this 8-month study, we demonstrated for the first time that simultaneous treatment with rosiglitazone plus exercise attenuated adipocytokine levels, counteracted rosiglitazone-induced weight gain, and extended improvements of insulin sensitivity, glycemic control, and fitness beyond those expected by their complementary actions in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The most pronounced results of glucose regulation were observed in the RSG + EX group (A1C –19.1%). After completion of the study, 78% of patients in the RSG + EX, 37.9% in the rosiglitazone, and 21.82% in the exercise group had achieved glycemic target (A1C <7%). This is a striking finding in that our patients had inadequate glycemic control notwithstanding the double antidiabetes treatment. Furthermore, combined treatment considerably ameliorated insulin resistance (change of HOMA-IR [{delta}HOMA-IR] –68.1%), exceeding the expected results from the addition of rosiglitazone ({delta}HOMA-IR –30.8%) to exercise ({delta}HOMA-IR –23.08%). We hypothesized that the latter synergistic effects might be ascribed to multiple interactions between insulin signaling and muscle glucose uptake (8,9).

Poor metabolic control, physical inactivity, and muscle abnormalities are determinants of impaired exercise capacity in type 2 diabetes (1,10). To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating a robust increase of fitness in the RSG + EX group, outlining synergism between thiazolidinediones and exercise training. Trying to explain these results, we observed that the VO2max increment was correlated with HOMA-IR and A1C reduction in all active groups (data not shown). We then postulated that metabolic control improvement after combined treatment might amplify VO2max elevation. Alternatively, thiazolidinediones and physical activity have been demonstrated to ameliorate endothelial dysfunction and induce mitochondrial biogenesis and thereby could facilitate oxygen delivery and muscle performance (1,11,12).

Adiponectin modulates insulin sensitivity with significant antiatherogenic properties (13). Our lifestyle intervention left adiponectin levels almost unaltered, while rosiglitazone treatment doubled adiponectin levels (14). Therefore, the increment of adiponectin in the RSG + EX group was predominantly ascribed to rosiglitazone administration.

Up to now, limited studies have provided conflicting data about the influence of thiazolidinediones and prolonged exercise on human plasma adipocytokines (5,1519). We demonstrated that all interventions suppressed resistin and IL-6 levels, while both combined therapy and rosiglitazone treatment alone decreased TNF-{alpha} levels significantly. Those effects were independent of insulin resistance modulation. Among all groups, the greatest magnitude of anti-inflammatory impact was found in the RSG + EX group, which raises the prospect of reduced cardiovascular risk.

Weight gain, the most common side effect of thiazolidinediones, is predominantly attributed to fluid retention (3). In the RSG + EX group, body weight remained stable. Perhaps the addition of exercise counterbalanced the rosiglitazone-related body weight increase by remarkably decreasing fat mass content.

The principal limitation of our study was the small number of patients. However, the sample cohort was adequately homogeneous. Another limitation was the usage of the HOMA-IR index. Although it is dependent on both peripheral and hepatic insulin sensitivity, it highly correlates with estimation derived from the euglycemic clamp test (6). The combination of rosiglitazone and exercise favored remarkable benefits on traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors. Further research will confirm the aforementioned promising results.


    Acknowledgments
 
This study was financially supported by the project "Pythagoras I" (Greek Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs and the European Union). N.P.E.K. received grant support from the Propondis Foundation.


    Footnotes
 
Published ahead of print at http://care.diabetesjournals.org on 22 June 2007. DOI: 10.2337/dc07-0341. Clinical trial reg. no. NCT00306176, clinicaltrials.gov.

A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

Received for publication February 18, 2007. Accepted for publication June 12, 2007.


    References
 TOP
 INTRODUCTION
 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--
 RESULTS
 CONCLUSIONS--
 References
 

  1. Boule NG, Kenny GP, Haddad E, Wells GA, Sigal RJ: Meta-analysis of the effect of structured exercise training on cardiorespiratory fitness in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetologia 46:1071–1081, 2003[Medline]
  2. Sigal RJ, Kenny GP, Wassermann DH, Castaneda-Sceppa C, White RD: Physical activity/exercise and type 2 diabetes: a consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care 29:1433–1438, 2006[Free Full Text]
  3. Parulkar AA, Pendergrass ML, Granda-Ayala R, Lee TR, Fonseca VA: Nonhypoglycemic effects of thiazolidinediones. Ann Intern Med 134:61–71, 2001[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  4. Barbier O, Torra P, Duguay Y, Blanquart C, Fruchart JC, Glineur C, Staels B: Pleiotropic actions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 22:717–726, 2002[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  5. Kadoglou NP, Perrea D, Iliadis F, Angelopoulou N, Liapis CD, Alevizos M: Exercise reduces resistin and inflammatory cytokines in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 30:719–721, 2007[Free Full Text]
  6. Wallace MT, Levy CJ, Matthews RD: Use and abuse of HOMA modeling. Diabetes Care 27:1487–1495, 2004[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7. McGavock JM, Mandic S, Muhll IV, Lewanczuk RZ, Quinney HA, Taylor DA, Welsh RC, Haykowsky M: Low cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with elevated C-reactive protein levels in women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 27:320–325, 2004[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  8. Brunmair B, Staniek K, Gras F, Scharf N, Althaym A, Clara R, Roden M, Gnaiger E, Nohl H, Waldhausl W, Furnsinn C: Thiazolidinediones, like metformin, inhibit respiratory complex I: a common mechanism contributing to their antidiabetic actions? Diabetes 53:1052–1059, 2004[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  9. Hallsten K, Virtanen, Lonnqvist F, Sipila H, Oksanen A, Viljanen T, Ronnemaa, Viikari J, Knuuti J, Nuutila P: Rosiglitazone but not metformin enhances insulin- and exercise-stimulated skeletal muscle glucose uptake in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 51:3479–3485, 2002[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  10. Fang ZY, Sharman J, Prins JB, Marwick TH: Determinants of exercise capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 28:1643–1648, 2005[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  11. Regensteiner JG, Bauer TA, Reusch JEB: Rosiglitazone improves exercise capacity in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 28:2877–2883, 2006
  12. Bogacka I, Xie H, Bray GA, Smith SR: Pioglitazone induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human subcutaneous adipose tissue in vivo. Diabetes 54:1392–1399, 2005[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  13. Lihn AS, Pedersen SB, Richelsen B: Adiponectin: action, regulation and association to insulin sensitivity. Obes Rev 6:13–21, 2005[Medline]
  14. Chu CS, Lee KT, Lee MY, Su HM, Voon WC, Sheu SH, Lai WT: Effects of rosiglitazone alone and in combination with atorvastatin on nontraditional markers of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Cardiol 97:646–650, 2006[Medline]
  15. Monzillo LU, Hamdy O, Horton ES, Ledbury, Mullooly C, Jarema C, Porter S, Ovalle K, Moussa, Mantzoros C: Effect of lifestyle modification on adipokine levels in obese subjects with insulin resistance. Obes Res 11:1048–1054, 2003[Medline]
  16. Jung HS, Youn B-S, Cho YM, Yu K-Y, Park HJ, Shin CS, Kim SY, Lee HK, Pak KS: The effects of rosiglitazone and metformin on the plasma concentrations of resistin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metabolism 54:314–320, 2005[Medline]
  17. Way JM, Gorgun CZ, Tong Q, Uysal KT, Brown KK, Harrington WW, Oliver WR Jr, Willson TM, Kliewer SA, Hotamisligil GS: Adipose tissue resistin expression is severely suppressed in obesity and stimulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists. J Biol Chem 276:25651–25653, 2001[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  18. Esposito K, Ciotola M, Carleo D, Schisano B, Saccomano F, Sasso FC, Cozzolino D, Assloni R, Merante D, Cerielo A, Giuglano D: Effect of rosiglitazone on endothelial function and inflammatory markers in patients with the metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Care 29:1071–1076, 2006[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  19. Haffner SM, Greenberg AS, Weston WM, Chen H, Williams K, Freed MI: Effect of rosiglitazone treatment on nontraditional markers of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Circulation 106:679–684, 2002[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Eur J EndocrinolHome page
A. Oberbach, S. Lehmann, K. Kirsch, J. Krist, M. Sonnabend, A. Linke, A. Tonjes, M. Stumvoll, M. Bluher, and P. Kovacs
Long-term exercise training decreases interleukin-6 (IL-6) serum levels in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance: effect of the -174G/C variant in IL-6 gene
Eur. J. Endocrinol., August 1, 2008; 159(2): 129 - 136.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
dc07-0341v1
30/9/2242    most recent
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kadoglou, N. P.E.
Right arrow Articles by Alevizos, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kadoglou, N. P.E.
Right arrow Articles by Alevizos, M.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Diabetes Diabetes Care Clinical Diabetes Diabetes Spectrum