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Background: Renal blood flow (RBF) decreases with exercise, but this change is only temporary, and habitual exercise may be an effective method to improve renal function. The kidney shows structural and functional changes with aging, but it is unclear how aging affects the hemodynamic response of the kidneys to exercise. Therefore, we evaluated the differences in the hemodynamic response of the kidneys to high-intensity exercise between younger and older men. Methods: Sixteen men (8 young and 8 older) underwent an incremental exercise test using a cycle ergometer with a 1-min warm up followed by exercise at 10–20 W/min until the discontinuation criteria were met. Renal hemodynamics were assessed before exercise, immediately after exercise, and at 60-min after exercise using ultrasound echo. Results: High-intensity exercise significantly reduced RBF in both groups (younger: ∆ – 53 ± 16%, p = 0.0005; older: ∆ – 53 ± 19%, p = 0.0004). In the younger group, RBF returned to the pre-exercise level 60-min after exercise (∆ – 0.4 ± 5.7%, p > 0.9999). In contrast, RBF 60-min after exercise was significantly lower than that before exercise in the older group (∆ – 24 ± 19%, p = 0.0006). The older group had significantly lower RBF than younger adults 60-min after exercise (423 ± 32 vs. 301 ± 98 mL/min, p = 0.0283). Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that RBF following high-intensity exercise recovered 60-min after exercise in younger group, whereas RBF recovery was delayed in the older group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of volunteers working with those experiencing homelessness in Japan. Topics include the core purpose of volunteering is to help others, whilst providing social and economic benefits, and concept of homelessness in Japan with its reasons, qualitative study to explore the motivational factors for volunteering at one homeless not-for-profit organization (NPO) in Hyōgo Prefecture.

Background: Acute exercise reduces renal blood flow (RBF). However, the effect of exercise intensity on RBF in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 2 is not known. We investigated the association between RBF and exercise intensity in patients with CKD stage 2 using pulsed Doppler ultrasonography. Methods: Eight men with CKD stage 2 (cystatin C-based estimate of glomerular filtration rate: 60–89 ml/min/1.73 m2) participated in this study. Using a bicycle ergometer, participants undertook a maximal graded exercise test (MGET) (experiment 1) and a multi-stage exercise test (experiment 2) to determine their lactate threshold (LT). Participants undertook a multi-stage exercise test for 4-min each. Workloads of 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% of LT were used in experiment 3. RBF was measured by pulsed Doppler ultrasonography at rest, immediately after exercise, and 1 h after exercise in experiment 1, and at rest and immediately after each exercise bout in experiment 3. Results: Renal blood flow after the MGET was 52% lower than at rest, and did not recover as well as after the exercise test. Cross-sectional area (CSA) was significantly lower after graded exercise. RBF tended to be lower at 100% of LT and was significantly lower at 120% of LT. CSA was significantly lower at 100% of LT. Conclusions: Renal blood flow does not change during exercise until the LT is reached. These findings may assist in making appropriate exercise recommendations to patients with CKD stage 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]