[Changes in plasma lipoproteins in adolescents with trisomy 21 in response to a physical endurance test]

In a previous study, the authors recorded a free fatty acids (FFA) concentration decrease in 11 Down's Syndrome (DS) subjects after an incremental maximal exercise until exhaustion. The aim of this study was to determine if lipid metabolism parameters in a group of DS subjects could be changed after an endurance training period prior to a sustained physical exercise test. After an "adapted" exercise programme, 6 healthy DS subjects, 4 boys and 2 girls aged from 16 to 22 years, performed a sustained exercise lasting 40 minutes on an cycle ergometer. They also compared their values with those taken from the data of laboratory for similarly aged normal subjects. The results of this trial indicate: (a) at rest: (i) a lipid metabolism that included normal level of triglycerides (Trig), but low level of total cholesterol (TC), (ii) a pathological pattern of lipoproteins: low level in high density lipoprotein (HDL), and high level in pré beta very low density lipoprotein (VLDL); (b) after an "adapted" exercise programme period concluding with a final test: (i) an approximate adjustment to normal lipid profiles: rise in HDL and fall in VLDL (ii) a rise of free fatty acids (FFA) between the start and the end of the test. It is noted that physical activity of an endurance type appears to have a favourable long term effect on some manifestations of this genetic disease and that, consequently, such endurance training may be promoted.