cardioprotective effects of aerobic training in diabetic rats: reducing cardiac apoptotic indices and oxidative stress for a healthier heart

Background: the present study evaluated the effects of aerobic training with variable intensities on apoptotic indices of cardiac tissue in fatty diabetic rats.methods: twenty-four male wistar rats were randomly divided into non-diabetic (nd, n=8), trained diabetic (td, n=8), and control diabetic (cd, n=8) groups. following a high-fat dietary regimen, type 2 diabetes was induced by streptozotocin, with blood glucose levels above 300 mg/dl considered indicative of diabetes. the td group underwent aerobic exercise five times a week for six weeks. subsequently, measurements were taken for left ventricular end-diastolic (lvedv) and end-systolic volumes (lvesv), ejection fraction (ef%), catalase, caspase-9, p53, glucose, insulin, and homa-ir.results: aerobic training led to a significant decrease in blood glucose levels (p < 0.01), caspase-9 (p < 0.05), homa-ir (p < 0.05), and p53 expression (p < 0.001) compared with the cd group. lvedv and lvesv decreased significantly (p < 0.05 for both), while lvef increased significantly (p < 0.05). catalase activation showed an insignificant increase in the td group pre- to post-training compared to cd.conclusion: incremental aerobic exercise training (6 weeks) may exert a cardioprotective effect in diabetic rats by reducing apoptosis and oxidative stress indices, while simultaneously increasing aerobic fitness and reducing body weight.