Aerobic Exercise and Blood Biochemical Factors in Spinal Cord Injury

Background: Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases compared to the healthy population. Aerobic exercise training is one of the recommended treatments. However, literature regarding the effect of aerobic training on patients with SCI is scarce. This study evaluated changes in parameters of exercise physiology and serum myokines immediately after exercise and after a training program among patients with SCI. Method: Male patients with SCI and age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were recruited. Cardio-pulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was used to determine oxygen uptake at peak exercise and anaerobic threshold in both groups. The patients with SCI attended aerobic exercise training for 36 sessions within 12-16 weeks. Basic data, hemodynamic and exercise physiology parameters, and serum myokine (myostatin, insulin like growth factor, and follistatin) concentrations were measured pre- and post-exercise in both groups, and were repeated in patients with SCI post-training.