Vascular pulsations stimulating nitric oxide release during cyclic exercise may benefit health: A molecular approach (Review)

It is widely assumed that all exercise, regardless of the degree of difficu lty or strenuousness, is good (no pain-no gain). In this speculative review of the literature and our research findings we highlight the fact that str enuous exercise taken to the extreme initiates an immune and vascular proin flammatory situation. However, mild cyclic exercise appears to produce heal th benefits for an individual. In part, this is due to vascular cyclic puls ations, occurring in mild exercise, stimulating constitutive nitric oxide s ynthase derived nitric oxide release. This in turn down-regulates vascular endothelial cells and immunocytes, as well as their interaction and inhibit s the disassociation of NF-kappaB, preventing the production of proinflamma tory cytokines. The nitric oxide so generated may even scavenge excess free radicals, preventing tissue damage. Prolonged strenuous exercise appears t o limit these positive phenomena because of the maintained and prolonged hi gh blood pressure that reduces the cyclic pulsations, limiting nitric oxide production. We further note that pathological conditions, i.e., Parkinson' s disorder, may benefit from mild exercise, i.e., cyclic nitric oxide produ ction, since the inactivity associated with this disease may lead to compro mised nitric oxide production, initiating a progressive deterioration of ti ssues, including peripheral adrenergic neurons, due to a lack of adequate b asal nitric oxide levels required to maintain the vascular microenvironment in a mild state of inhibition. We conclude that mild exercise represents a n alternate and economical therapy to preserve health and/or diminish the r ate of decline of the normal physiological processes that may even be assoc iated with aging.