Effects of Walking and Heating on Vascular Function in Diabetic Patients
Effects of Walking and Heating on Vascular Function in Diabetic Patients
The purpose of the present study is to determine the effects of increased walking and lower
 body heating on leg vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
The notion that habitual aerobic exercise increases insulin-induced vasodilation is largely
 founded on rodent studies, hence the urgent need for human studies, especially in patients
 with type 2 diabetes (T2D). For example, it remains unknown if increased walking, the most
 common form of physical activity, enhances skeletal muscle vasodilator actions of insulin in
 T2D. In addition, the molecular mechanisms by which exercise improves vasoreactivity to
 insulin have not been examined in humans. The investigators propose that in T2D patients who
 are sedentary (i.e., the vast majority), increased leg blood flow with walking or local
 heating signifies a vital strategy to correct vascular insulin resistance. This study will
 establish whether increased physical activity and associated hemodynamic forces (e.g., shear
 stress) are a direct form of vascular medicine in humans.
Inclusion Criteria:

 Patients with type 2 diabetes who are overweight and obese (BMI 25-50 kg/m2), 35 to 65
 years of age, and sedentary (<60 minutes structured exercise/week). Healthy volunteers
 without type 2 diabetes: 35 to 65 years of age.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 1. Cardiovascular disease including myocardial infraction, heart failure, coronary artery
 disease, stroke;

 2. renal or hepatic diseases;

 3. active cancer;

 4. autoimmune diseases;

 5. immunosuppressant therapy;

 6. excessive alcohol consumption (>14 drinks/week for men; >7 drinks/week for women);

 7. current tobacco use;

 8. pregnancy;

 9. mobility limitations;

 10. foot ulcers;

 11. diabetic neuropathy

 12. uncontrolled hypertension (>=180 systolic / 100 diastolic mmHg)