BLOOD FLOW EFFECTS ON GLUCOSE UPTAKE FOLLOWING RESISTANCE EXERCISE

Abstract

Although the effects of blood flow on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake have been extensively investigated, the relative importance of blood flow per se on glucose uptake remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine if elevated muscle blood flow following exercise affects muscle glucose uptake. Six subjects (three males, three females) were studied before and after a strenuous bout of lower-body resistance exercise. Following exercise, blood flow was selectively reduced in one leg to approximately the resting rate by inflation of an arterial balloon catheter. Femoral artery blood flow was determined using doppler ultrasound and femoral arterial and venous blood glucose concentrations were measured with a glucose analyzer. Post-exercise femoral artery blood flow was significantly reduced by balloon inflation (855 ± 93 ml/min in the control leg, 440 ± 106 ml/min in the decreased flow leg). Reduction of post-exercise blood flow resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in glucose uptake (0.196 ± 0.043 mmolòmin-1òleg-1 vs. 0.109 ± 0.038 mmolòmin-1òleg-1) when only femoral flow was considered. When collateral flow was considered, a trend toward a reduction in glucose uptake persisted (0.154 ± 0.045 mmolòmin-1òleg-1; P = 0.10). We conclude that the rate of blood flow is a determinant of muscle glucose uptake in humans following resistance exercise.