Woods, Jeffery A.

Acute systemic induced inflammation negatively affects arterial function in young healthy adults. An acute bout of aerobic exercise reduces arterial stiffness and improves endothelial function. Therefore, we evaluated endothelial function and wave reflection in older adults in response to acute systemic inflammation and the effect of moderate intensity endurance exercise immediately prior to induced inflammation. 59 healthy volunteers (range 55 – 75 years) were randomly allocated to an exercise or control group. Arterial function and inflammatory markers were measured at baseline, 24 h and 48 h after influenza vaccine and sham injections. CRP increased approximately 1.5 times, 24 and 48 h after vaccination while IL‐6 increased 24 hours after vaccination compared to the sham injection. Unexpectedly, arterial function was unaltered (Table). Inflammation and endothelial function were dissociated following vaccine‐induced acute systemic inflammation in older adults. Acute exercise prior to vaccination had no effect of inflammation or vascular function. Support: AHA #10PRE3500083 (SMR).