Research Matters At The Arizona Health Sciences Center

Pila Martinez
April 30, 2001


Researchers Study Exercise Bike that Builds Muscle with Little Effort

An exercise machine being studied at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center could help frail seniors get stronger without the effort of aerobic exercise or weightlifting.

The machine looks like a recumbent exercise bicycle, but it has a motor that moves the pedals backward. The rider tries to slow their movement by pressing against the pedals, which causes the muscle to act as a brake, such as when a person hikes downhill.

"The activity feels like it's very low intensity," says Stan L. Lindstedt, a Regents' Professor of biology at Northern Arizona University who is on a yearlong sabbatical at the Heart Center. "There is minimal or no increase in heart rate when they're on the bike, and minimal or no increase in respiratory rate."

Lindstedt, a muscle biologist, and Paul C. LaStayo, an assistant professor of physical therapy also on sabbatical from NAU, are using the bike in a pilot study to see whether it could benefit people with sarcopenia, the muscle wasting that occurs with age. All of the study's 12
participants, whose average age is 81, have doubled their leg muscle strength after using the bike three times a week for eight weeks, Lindstedt says. He and LaStayo eventually would like to study how the bike could help people recovering from cardiovascular and pulmonary illnesses, as well as heart transplants and heart attacks.



Researcher Looks for Ways to Keep People Young at Heart -- Literally

Researchers in Doug Larson's lab are trying to figure out how to keep the heart young even as the rest of the body ages.

"It's pretty obvious that the cardiac function in the aged individual is less than the young individual," says Larson, a UA Sarver Heart Center member and a professor of surgery and pharmacology. "Our question is: Why?"

The aged heart doesn't contract as well, relax as well or pump as much blood. Research from Larson's lab suggests that one cause could be the aging of the immune system. As the immune system grows older, it becomes less regulated, which can lead to the release of certain hormones that reduce heart function. By blocking the hormones, heart function can be restored, Larson says.

Research in his lab one day could lead to drugs that would improve the quality of life for older people by delaying the onset of serious heart problems and prolonging their lives, Larson says.




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