Introduction and purpose: One of the diseases that has caused some problems for the elderly today is diabetic neuropathy. The purpose of this research was the effect of eight weeks of endurance, resistance and combined exercises on levels of Neuroglin-1, agrin C-terminal fragment, insulin resistance, functional factors and body composition in elderly men with type 2 diabetic neuropathy.
Materials and methods: The current research is semi-experimental with 40 diabetic men with neuropathy, age range between 50 and 65 years, with at least two years of history of the disease, with glycosylated hemoglobin level between 6.5 and 7%, fasting blood glucose above 125 to 150 mL.gr.dl were selected by available and targeted sampling method and were randomly divided into four endurance, resistance, combined and control groups. The training groups did their exercises 3 times a week for eight weeks, and the control group was without physical activity. Blood samples were measured 48 hours before and after the research, 5 cc were taken from the brachial vein. For intra-group and inter-group comparison, respectively, t-correlation method and one-way variance and a significance level of less than 0.05 were considered.
Results: The values of weight, body mass index, resting heart rate, hip circumference ratio, fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin resistance, C-terminal agrin peptide showed a significant decrease in all three experimental groups compared to the control group. Also, the values of oxygen consumption, Neuroglin-1, stork balance test and TUG functional test showed a significant increase in all three experimental groups compared to the control group.
Discussion and Conclusion: Eight weeks of endurance, resistance and combined exercises have positive changes on the body mass index and improve the functional status of type 2 diabetic neuropathy patients and are probably effective in increasing the physiological and physical status of these patients.