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Background Obesity is a major health problem in people with intellectual disabilities. It is also widely accepted that low-grade systemic inflammation associated to obesity plays a key role in the pathogenic mechanism of several disorders. Fortunately, physical activity has shown to improve inflammation in people with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, we assessed the influence of aerobic training on pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins in women with Down syndrome. Methods To achieve this outcome, 20 premenopausal obese young women with Down syndrome volunteered for this study. Eleven were randomly assigned to the intervention group and performed a 10-week aerobic training programme, three sessions per week, consisting of a warm-up then a 30- to 40-min treadmill exercise at a work intensity of 55-65% of peak heart rate followed by a cooling-down period. The control group included nine age-, sex- and body mass index-matched women with Down syndrome. Fat mass percentage and fat distribution were measured. Plasmatic levels of tumour necrosis factor ( TNF)-α, interleukin ( IL)-6 and fibrinogen were assessed by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. C-reactive protein ( CRP) was assessed by nephelometry. Results Plasmatic levels of TNF-α (11.7 ± 1.6 vs. 9.2 ± 1.3 pg/ml; P = 0.022), IL-6 (8.2 ± 1.1 vs. 6.1 ± 0.9 pg/ml; P = 0.014) and high sensitive CRP (0.62 ± 0.11 vs. 0.53 ± 0.09 mg/dl; P = 0.009) were significantly reduced in the intervention group. Further, significant correlations between plasmatic and anthropometric parameters were found. Conclusion A 10-week training programme reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins in obese young women with Down syndrome. Long-term, well-conducted studies are still required to determine whether correction of this low-grade inflammation improves clinical outcomes of women with trisomy 21. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with Down syndrome have been generally described as having high levels of oxidative stress, which have been associated to an increased morbidity. Fortunately, recent studies have reported that aerobic training may upregulate antioxidant defence system both in general population and individuals with trisomy 21. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of aerobic training in reducing protein oxidation. To achieve this goal, 31 adolescents with Down syndrome performed a 12-week training program on a treadmill with 3 days/week, consisting of warm-up (15 min), main part (20-35 min) at a work intensity of 60-75% of peak heart rate (HRmax=194.5-[0.56 age]) and cool-down (10 min). A control group included seven age-, sex- and BMI-matched adolescents with trisomy 21 that did not perform any training program. Plasma carbonyl content was determined by means of a slightly modified Levine method. Pre- and post-training carbonyl contents were 1.98±0.2 [95% confidence intervals (95% CI): 1.94-2.02] nmol/mg protein and 1.16±0.1 (95% CI: 1.14-1.18) nmol/mg protein, respectively. When compared with baseline values, it was decreased significantly (1.98±0.2 vs 1.16±0.1; P<0.001). It was concluded that 12-week exercise program significantly reduced protein oxidation in adolescents with Down syndrome. Further long-term follow-up studies are required to determine whether correction of this oxidant imbalance improves clinical outcomes of individuals with trisomy 21. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]