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The objective was to evaluate the metabolic and vascular effects of lifestyle interventions involving a healthy diet and either a moderate- or a high-intensity exercise regimen in nondiabetic subjects with metabolic syndrome. The effects of these interventions on flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and risk profiles were compared with a standard low-fat diet and engaging in daily walking (standard of care). Seventy-five healthy adults with metabolic syndrome (30-55 years old) were randomized to a 10,000-steps-a-day exercise program, a 3-times-a-week fitness (>75% peak VO(2)) program, or a 1-hour-walking-a-day program for 12 weeks. The first 2 interventions were combined with an accessible healthy, no-sugar diet; and the third was combined with a tailored low-fat diet. The outcomes, including FMD and risk factors, were examined at 12 weeks and at 1-year reassessment. Significant increase in FMD (mean difference = 1.51%, 95% confidence interval = 1.05%-3.017%, P = .0007) and decrease in arterial pressure (mean difference = 19.3 ± 2.3/-12.6 ± 1.8 mm Hg, P = .0001) were observed in all groups. However, the FMD changed most favorably in the high-intensity, low-sugar group (mean difference = 1.56%, 95% confidence interval = 0.1%-3.02%, P = .036). Significant improvements in body mass index, waist, insulin-like growth factor-1, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, insulin, glucose, urinary albumin excretion, and lipid profiles occurred in all groups. Metabolic syndrome was resolved in 64%. One year later, weight loss (-9.1 ± 2.3 kg, P = .0001) and arterial pressure decrease (-18.5 ± 2.3/-12.3 ± 2.1 mm Hg, P = .0001) were maintained. Practical, health-centered diet combined with high-intensity exercise is associated with enhanced vascular protection. These data suggest that more intense exercise combined with a low-sugar diet modulates endothelium-dependent vasodilation., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Early-life events may induce alterations in neuronal function in adulthood. A crucial aspect in studying long-lasting effects induced by environmental interventions imposed to the animal several weeks before is finding a stable change that could be causally related to the phenotype observed in adulthood. In order to explain an adult trait, it seems necessary to look back to early life and establish a temporal line between events. The neonatal handling procedure is an experimental tool to analyze the long-lasting impact of early-life events. Aside from the neuroendocrine response to stress, neonatal handling also alters the functionality of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis. Reductions in ovulation and surge of the luteinizing hormone (LH) on the proestrous day were shown in female rats. Considering the importance of the medial preoptic area (MPA) for the control of ovulation, the present study aimed to verify the effects of neonatal handling on the numerical density and cell size in the MPA in 11-day-old and 90-day-old female rats. Cellular proliferation was also assessed using BrdU (5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine) in 11-day-old pups. Results showed that neonatal handling induces a stable reduction in the number of cells and in the size of the cell soma, which were lower in handled females than in nonhandled ones at both ages. Cellular proliferation in the MPA was also reduced 24 h after the last manipulation. The repeated mother-infant disruption imposed by the handling procedure "lesioned" the MPA. The dysfunction in the ovulation mechanisms induced by the handling procedure could be related to that neuronal loss. The study also illustrates the impact of an environmental intervention on the development of the brain.