تاثیر هشت هفته تمرینات ترکیبی منتخب بر سطوح ایمنی هومورال و شاخص‌های هماتولوژیک مردان سالمند غیرفعال

Objectives: Old age is associated with irregularities in many aspects of body immune system function. During&nbsp;this period, the immune responses decline with increasing age. In other words, with decreasing number of immune&nbsp;cells, which are responsible for detecting and direct attack to contaminated cells, the immune response&nbsp;decreases and results in failure of the immune system. As sports activities could affect the immune system and&nbsp;old age is associated with progressive immune failure, the study of the effects of exercise on the immune system&nbsp;function in old age becomes important. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of selected&nbsp;combined exercises (aerobic and resistance training) on the serum level of cortisol and immunoglobulins in&nbsp;inactive elderly men. Methods & Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 24 subjects were selected by convenience sampling&nbsp;method. Their age and body mass index ranged 60&ndash;70 years and 22&ndash;25 kg/m2, respectively. Then, they were&nbsp;randomly assigned into 2 groups (experimental [n=12] and control [n=12]). The experimental group started&nbsp;the combined training exercise, and the control group continued their inactive usual routines. The combined&nbsp;training exercise (aerobic-resistance) included running on a treadmill for 20 minutes per session, 3 sessions per&nbsp;week, for 8 weeks, with an intensity of 60% to 70% HRR. Furthermore, the resistance training comprised 10&nbsp;circling stationary movements of leg flexion, leg extension, leg press, scott, underarm stretch, chest press, iron&nbsp;cross with dumbbells, biceps flexion, triceps extension, and rowing motion with rope. This training included an&nbsp;intensity of 60% to 70% of one maximum repetition with extra load and 10 repetitions in 2 successive times&nbsp;with 30 seconds rest between each repetition and 2 minutes&rsquo; rest between each movement. In this study, the&nbsp;blood samples were taken 24 hours before the exercise and 24 hours after the last session of the exercise. We&nbsp;used nephelometer instrument and binding kit site to measure the IgG, IgM, and IgA levels. The cortisol level&nbsp;was measured by Gamacounter and RIA kit by the immunoradiometric method. To evaluate the consumed&nbsp;oxygen, we used the protocol on treadmill instrument. In order to compare intra- and inter-group mean variables,&nbsp;we used analyses of variance for repeated measures. The significant level was set at P<0.05. Results: The results indicated that the combined exercises reduced IgG level (12.75%) in the elderly people&nbsp;(P=0.04). Although the level of serum IgM was also reduced (15.93%), this decrease was insignificant (P=0.31).&nbsp;Furthermore, no significant change was seen in the IgA level (P=0.90). The cortisol level was significantly increased&nbsp;(8.33%) in the experimental group P=0.001). Based on the results, the mean intergroup changes&nbsp;in the levels of IgA, IgA, and IgM were not significant (P>0.05). However, a significant difference was seen&nbsp;between 2 groups with regard to serum cortisol level (P<0.05). Conclusion: Doing physical activities is one of the key factors in changing the function of the immune system.&nbsp;This issue is associated with the intensity, duration, kind of exercise, body readiness, nutrition, mental status,&nbsp;and hormonal factors. Based on the results, long and intensive exercises with an increase in the catabolic process&nbsp;may weaken the immune system of the older people.