The Effect of 8 weeks of Concurrent Training on Plasma Concentration of Irisin and BDNF in Overweight Middle-Aged Men

The purpose of the present study is to review the effect of 8 weeks of concurrent training on plasma concentration of Irisin and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in overweight middle-aged men.20 healthy middle-aged men with the average age of 51.3±7.5 were randomly chosen and divided into 2 groups of test (10 members) and control (10 members) groups. The participants in the test group took part in 8 weeks of concurrent exercise. The work out plan consisted of 10 minutes of warm-up, 25 minutes of aerobics, 30 minutes of endurance activities, and 5 minutes of cool-down. Blood samples were tested before the test and 48 hours after the last work out session in order to measure Irisin and BDNF levels by ELISA test. For data analysis, t-test was used. The results showed that plasma concentration of Irisin and BDNF levels increased significantly in the test group compared to the pre-test (P≥ 0.001). Also, the comparison between test group and control group in post-test indicated high plasma levels of Irisin and BDNF in the concurrent test group (P≥ 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significantly positive relation between plasma changes of Irisin and BDNF (r-0.569; P≥ 0.01).  It seems that concurrent exercising can positively regulate Irisin and BDNF levels in overweight middle-aged men and thus fight against the harmful effects of aging.