Aerobic Capacity and Strength Exercise in Takayasu's Arteritis: Impact on Clinical, Laboratory and Vascular Parameters

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a primary systemic vasculitis that affects large vessels and their main branches. It mainly affects young women. Blood vessel inflammation may result in stenosis, occlusions, ectasias and/or aneurysms and, consequently, difference of blood pressure between limbs and vascular claudication. Aerobic capacity (CA) is the measure of oxygen uptake, transport and use by the body, characterizing the individual's ability to perform activity. It is also a tool that can predict cardiovascular diseases. Our group has been a pioneer in demonstrating that CA is decreased in the small sample of the young women with TA. In addition, the safety and efficacy of aerobic exercises in this sample of patients were shown, as well as the influence of these sessions on the pro-inflammatory and angiogenic serum levels of the cytokines. However, due to the small samples, it was not possible to correlate CA with clinical and laboratory parameters and also with the presence of vascular damage. Moreover, to date, no studies have evaluated securityof an acute strength exercise session in TA.Therefore, thes objectives of the present study were to evaluate: a) the CA; b) security of the acute strength exercise session; c) correlation between CA, as well as strength exercise session, with demographic, clinical, therapeutic, comorbid parameters, and presence and degree of vascular damage; d) serum levels of the cytokine.