Therapeutic effect of hybrid training of voluntary and electrical muscle contractions in middle-aged obese women with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a pilot trial

Abstract

Background

Exercise training is an effective therapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Hybrid training (HYB) of voluntary and electrical muscle contractions was developed to prevent disuse atrophy during space flight. HYB can be applied to obtain a strength training effect accompanying articular movement. In this pilot study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of HYB in NAFLD.

Methods

A total of 15 middle-aged obese women with NAFLD who had no improvement in serum alanine aminotransferase levels and/or liver fat deposition after 12 weeks of lifestyle counseling participated in an HYB program. HYB of the quadriceps and hamstrings was conducted for 20 minutes twice a week for 24 weeks.

Results

NAFLD patients showed attenuated intramyocellular lipid levels in the quadriceps after the HYB intervention (−15.5%). Levels of leptin (−17.4%), tumor necrosis factor-α (−23.2%), and interleukin-6 (−30.5%) were also decreased after the intervention. HYB led to a significant body weight reduction (−4.7%), which in turn was associated with a significant decrease in serum alanine aminotransferase (−35.8%), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (−21.6%), ferritin (−16.0%), oxidative stress (−17.8%) levels, and insulin resistance values (−2.7%).

Conclusion

In NAFLD, HYB exerts an antiobesity effect and attenuates liver dysfunction and insulin resistance in association with an increase in muscle strength and a decrease in ectopic muscle fat. Therefore, HYB has great potential as a new type of exercise therapy for liver disease in patients with NAFLD.

Keywords:

• exercise
• muscle
• nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• obesity
• oxidative stress
• ectopic fat

Acknowledgments

We thank Professor Naoto Shiba, Department of Orthopedics, Kurume University Hospital, for his collaboration in the design of the training program and his excellent technical assistance therein. This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan (24390488, 25282172, 25560364, 26293284, 26282191, 26293297, and 26670109).

Disclosure

No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated. The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.