Abstract 745: Voluntary Late-life Exercise Attenuates Frailty and Improves Maladaptive Changes Associated With Cardiac Aging in Female Mice

• Published in: Circulation research 2019-08, Vol.125 (Suppl_1)
• Main Authors: Bisset, Elise S, Howlett, Susan E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0009-7330; 1524-4571
• DOI: 10.1161/res.125.suppl_1.745

Abstract only Voluntary aerobic exercise has many positive health benefits and may actually attenuate frailty. Exercise may also improve cardiac function in the setting of aging, although links between exercise, frailty and age-dependent cardiac remodeling are unclear. To investigate age-related effects of exercise, 21-23 month old female C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups, an exercise group (n=9) and a sedentary group (n=9). Frailty was measured with a clinical frailty index (FI) tool, then mice were randomly assigned to either exercise or sedentary groups matched by their initial FI scores. The exercise group was allowed constant access to a running wheel for 13 weeks, while sedentary animals had no wheel access. Cardiac function was measured with echocardiography at baseline, midpoint (6 weeks) and endpoint (13 weeks) in both groups. FI scores increased with age in sedentary mice (0.18 ± 0.02 to 0.34 ± 0.05; baseline vs endpoint) but not in the exercise group (0.18 ± 0.02 to 0.20 ± 0.01) and this difference was significant (at endpoint; p