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Updated: Sep 13, 2025
Skeletal Muscle Neurovascular Coupling, Oxidative Capacity, and Microvascular Function with 'One Stop Shop' Near-infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: February 20, 2018
Evidence of a redox-dependent control of vascular function after muscle-damaging exercise in young adults: a
Georgios Mavraganis1, Alexandra Sakelliou1, Georgios Georgiopoulos2
1Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, 80 Vas. Sofias Str, Athens 11528, Greece.
Objective:
High-intensity resistance exercise may temporarily induce vascular dysfunction mediated by pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory pathways. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the possible protective effect of the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) on vascular function after a bout of high-intensity resistance exercise.
Methods:
In this randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study, ten healthy male volunteers (mean age 24.2 ± 2.1 years) who exercised regularly were randomly allocated to a daily oral administration of NAC or placebo during an 8-day recovery after an acute intense eccentric exercise protocol. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) measurements were performed pre- and post-exercise in both study arms.
Results:
Muscle exercise induced a significant decrease in FMD in the placebo arm (p = 0.017) during the first 48 h after exercise, recovering thereafter. In contrast, in the NAC arm, FMD did not decrease significantly. By linear mixed-model analysis, a higher increase in CD4 cells levels correlated with preserved FMD (p = 0.046) only in the placebo arm (p = 0.811 in the NAC arm). PWV did not present significant fluctuations before and after exercise in either arm (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
A bout of eccentric exercise induced endothelial dysfunction, which was attenuated by NAC, indicating that oxidative stress may be implicated in vivo in this setting.
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