http://www.lifesciencesite.com ) 3 2013;10( Life Science Journal 860 A Comparison between the Impact of Two Different Exercise Protocols on Advanced Glycation End Products in Type 2 Diabetic Rats Mahmoud E. Salama 1&3 , Magdi A. El-Damarawi 1&4 , Afrah F. Salama 2 1 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and 2 Chemistry Department, Biochemistry Division, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt. On Sabbatical leave to Departments of Physiology, 3 Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Qassim University and 4 Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. magdy.ali@med.tanta.edu.eg , magdidamarawi@yahoo.com Abstract: AIM: This study was designed to compare the impact of two different exercise protocols on the serum level of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in type 2 diabetic rats. METHODS: This study was performed on 40 male albino rats, weighed 200-250 g. At the start of the study, 10 male rats were separated and used as a control group (group I). Induction of diabetes in another 30 rats was done by a single intravenous injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). The diabetic rats were randomly divided into two groups: group II (sedentary group) (n = 10) and group III (exercised group) (n = 20). Then, the exercised group was further subdivided into two subgroups: IIIa (were subjected to chronic regular moderate exercise protocol for 8 weeks and IIIb faced another protocol in the form of irregular strenuous exercise for the same period. RESULTS: The data in group II (sedentary group) as compared to group I (control group), showed that the injection of streptozotocin resulted in significant increase in the fasting blood glucose, serum AGEs and insulin levels and HOMA-IR. Also, there was significant decrease in the extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme serum level. Meanwhile, in subgroup IIIa (as compared to group II), regular moderate exercise protocol in diabetic rats produced significant reduction in the fasting blood glucose, serum AGEs and insulin levels and HOMA-IR. At the same time, there was significant increase in serum level of superoxide dismutase. Lastly, in subgroup IIIb (as compared to group II), the irregular intense exercise protocol in diabetic rats caused significant reduction in fasting blood glucose but there was insignificant decrease in serum AGEs and insulin levels and HOMA-IR. This was associated with insignificant increase in the superoxide dismutase serum level. CONCLUSION: In type 2 diabetes, regular moderate exercise protocol is more valuable program to reduce serum level of advanced glycation end products than irregular severe one. This regular moderate protocol will be very helpful in the prevention of development of diabetic complications. [Mahmoud E. Salama, Magdi A. El-Damarawi and Afrah F. Salama. A Comparison between the Impact of Two Different Exercise Protocols on Advanced Glycation End Products in Type 2 Diabetic Rats. Life Sci J 2013;10(3):860-869] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . 129 Key Words: Diabetes, AGEs, regular moderate exercise, irregular intense exercise. 1. Introduction Diabetes mellitus has emerged as one of the main alarms to human health in the 21 st century. Pronounced changes in the human environment, behavior and lifestyle have accompanied globalization, which resulted in growing rates of diabetes (1) . In the year 2010, 284 million people were recorded as suffering from this disease, and it is suggested that this figure will increase to 439 million in the year 2030 (2) . Diabetes mellitus is a chronic debilitating disease characterized by hyperglycemia, which is the main cause of the increased risk of developing complications such as kidney failure, adult blindness, non-traumatic amputations, cardiovascular disease, and nerve damage according to its duration and extent (3) . Glycation is a reaction that takes place when simple sugar molecules, such as fructose or glucose, becomes attached to proteins or lipids without the moderation of an enzyme (Maillard reaction). This results in the formation of heterogeneous class of compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The formation of AGEs is an important biochemical abnormality that accompanies diabetes mellitus, normal aging and, likely, inflammation in general (4,5) . The blood level of AGEs appears to be increased in diabetes because of hyperglycemia, oxidative stress and high quantities of free fatty acids (FFA) (6) . The formation of AGEs can be retarded or attenuated, but not completely abolished, through an efficient glycemic control (7) . The regular practice of physical activity could be one interesting approach to controlling glycemia through the reduction of peripheral resistance to insulin, attenuating the formation of AGEs, as well as associated oxidative stress (8) . In cases of type 2 diabetes, the oxidative stress results in formation of ROS that disrupt transmission