Poster Sessions PO23 Exercise 99 POSTER SESSIONS intake in control rats to a greater extent than that observed in exercised ones, whereas inhibitors of AMPK had the opposite effect. Exercise was associated with both reduced phosphorylation of the AMPK/ACC signaling pathway and increased phosphorylation of proteins involved in mTOR signal transduction in the hypothalamus.Treatment with leptin reduced food intake in exercised rats that were pretreated with vehicle, although no increase in sensitivity to leptin-induced anorexia after pretreatment with anti-IL6 antibody, AICAR or Rapamycin was detected. Conclusion: Thus, improved responses of AMPK and mTOR to leptin may contribute to the appetite suppressive actions of exercise. PO23-334 A COMPARISON OF QUALITY OF LIFE, PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTION AND PERCEPTION IN INACTIVE AND ACTIVE PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE H. Arikan 1 , S. Savci 1 , M. Saglam 1 , D. Inal-Ince 1 , M. Bosnak-Guclu 1 , L. Tokgozoglu 2 , M. Demircin 3 . 1 School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2 Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, 3 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey Background and aims: The aim of this study was to compare quality of life, psychosocial function and fatigue perception in physically inactive and active patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: Twenty five (20 male, 5 female) inactive patients (mean age 59.88±11.10 years) and twenty three (20 male, 3 female) active patients (mean age 59.70±9.58 years) participated in this study. Physical activity level was measured using International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Quality of life was determined using Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Psychosocial function was determined using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Functional capacity was assessed using six-minute walk test (6MWT). Heart rate, oxygen saturation, dyspnea (modified Borg scale) and fatigue perception (visual analogue scale) was recorded before and after the test. Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index, smoking history and other risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mel- litus, hyperlipidemia) between physically inactive and active patients with CAD (p>0.05). HADS depression score, NHP pain subscale, NHP physical activity, and NHP total score were significantly lower in physically active patients with CAD (p<0.05) than those of inactive patients. There was no significant difference in 6MWT distance (p>0.05) but exercise fatigue perception and respiratory rate of inactive patients were significantly higher than those of sufficiently active patients (p<0.05). Conclusions: Quality of life and depression are affected by physical activity level in patients with CAD. Inactive patients with CAD had higher fatigue perception and respiratory rate during despite preserved functional capacity. PO23-335 A 6-WEEK PROTOCOL BASED ON EXERCISE AND SUPPLEMENTATION IMPROVED TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN ATHLETES WITH MENTAL RETARDATION FROM SPECIAL OLYMPICS F.J. Ordonez 2 , M. Rosety 2 , I. Rosety 2 , M. Bernardi 3 , A. Diaz 4 , M.A. Rosety 5 , M. Rosety-Rodriguez 1 . 1 Medicine Department, School of Medicine, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 2 Human Anatomy Department, School of Medicine. University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 3 Physiology Department, School of Medicine, University La Sapienza Rome, Rome, Italy; 4 School of Sport Medicine,University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 5 School of Physical Activity, University of Europea Madrid, Madrid, Spain Background and aims: It is widely accepted high physical performance may be associated to oxidtive damage. Further, individuals with mental retardation have been generally described as having high levels of oxidative stress. In order to improve their redox metabolism, the present study was undertaken to ascertain the influence of a mixed protocol based on regular exercise and antioxidant supplementation in total antioxidant status (TAS) in athletes with mental retardation since it has been proposed as a pathogenic mechanism of atherosclerosis, cell aging, etc. Methods: Fifty-five high-performance athletes with mental retardation from Special Olympics volunteered for this study (21.6±1.8 years-old). Fourty were randomly included in experimental group to perform a 6-week protocol including exercise (low-moderate intensity aerobic exercise before breakfast 3 times per week) and supplementation (1g ascorbic acid + 400 UI α-tocopherol 6 times per week). Control group included 15 age, sex, trained and BMI-matched athletes with metal retardation that did not perform our protocol. Written informed consent was obtained. Further our protocol was approved by an institutional ethic committee. Plasmatic TAS were determined by commercial kits supplied by Randox 72-hours before starting the protocol (pre-test) and after its ending (post-test). Results: When compared to baseline TAS levels were increased signifi- cantly after our 6-week protocol (0.41±0.08 vs 0.83±0.1 mmol/l; p<0.05). No changes were reported in controls. Conclusions: It was concluded a 6-week mixed protocol improved significantly antioxidant system in athletes with mental retardation. Further studies on this topic are highly required. PO23-336 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THERAPY IN AN ANIMAL MODEL OF TYPE 2 DIABETES E. Teixeira de Lemos 1,2 , F. Reis 1 , S. Baptista 1 , R. Pinto 3 , B. Sepodes 3 , H. Vala 2 , P. Rocha Pereira 4 , A. Santos Silva 5 , F. Teixeira 1 . 1 Therapeutics Unit, Institute of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Medicine Faculty, Coimbra University, Coimbra, Portugal; 2 Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Viseu, Portugal; 3 Pharmacology and Pharmacotoxicology Unit, Pharmacy School, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal; 4 Departament of Chemistry, University of Beira Interior, Covilha, Portugal; 5 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy and Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Background: Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation is a feature of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (T2D). There is evidence that regular exercise is effective as a treatment in these situations. This study intended to assess the levels of two inflammatory mediators, C-reactive protein (CRP) and adiponectin in Zucker Diabetic Fatty ZDF (fa/fa) rats an experimental model of T2D; and whether exercise- induced changes in insulin resistance could be explained by modifications in these inflammation markers. Material/Methods: Male ZDF (Gmi fa/fa) rats and their littermates (Gmi +/+), aged 8 weeks, were randomly assigned in two groups: an exercise trained and a sedentary one. Swimming was conducted 1h/day, 3 days/week, for 12 weeks. The rats were sacrificed 48 h after the last bout exercise. Rats had their body weight, insulin, adiponectin and CRP as well as glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides, MDA and SOD levels measured and HOMA-IR calculated before and after the 12 weeks swimming training. Results: In the ZDF (fa/fa) rats underwent swimming exercise all the metabolic abnormalities were totally or partially prevented (p<0.001), namely the hyperglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemic and dislipidaemic pattern observed in their sedentary counterparts. Furthermore, even without body weight change, a plasma adiponectin increase (28.0%) and a CRP decrease (12.7%) were also observed. Concomitantly swimming training decreased MDA (25%) and increased SOD (46%) levels. Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that a 12 weeks thrice-weekly swimming training might blunt exercise-related inflammation, reducing the oxidative stress and increasing the antioxidant defences resulting in an insulin improvement. PO23-337 REGULAR EXERCISE REDUCED PLASMATIC LEVELS OF IL-6 IN WOMEN WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME M. Rosety-Rodriguez 1 , I. Rosety 2 , F. Gomez 3 , J. Meletis 4 , M.A. Rosety 5 , M. Rosety 2 , F.J. Ordonez 2 . 1 Medicine Department, School of Medicine, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 2 Human Anatomy Department, School of Medicine. University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 3 Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Puerto Real Hospital, University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain; 4 Hematology Department, Laiko Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece; 5 School of Physical Activity, University of Europea Madrid, Madrid, Spain Background and aims: It is widely accepted individuals with metabolic syndrome presented a proinflammatory state that may finally result in an increased cardiovascular risk profile. The present study was designed to determine the influence of regular exercise on proinflammatory biomarkers in women with metabolic syndrome. 77th Congress of the European Atherosclerosis Society, April 26–29, 2008, Istanbul, Turkey