1 Jun 2016

Volunteers wanted for study into the effects of exercise to the immune system

The aim of the study is to provide healthy control data for a previous study which investigated how walking exercise affects the immune system of kidney transplant patients.

The current study, conducted by the NCSEM, will allow researchers to assess whether response to tests differs in people without kidney disease. The results of this study will help researchers to prescribe the correct level of exercise to the patients in the future.

 To take part, volunteers must:

  • Have no evidence of kidney disease
  • Be aged between 50 and 80 years
  • Have no personal history of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, high blood pressure or dyslipidaemia
  • Not be dieting or have extreme dietary habits
  • Not be diabetic
  • Be a non-smoker
  • Not had a recent infection (last 6 weeks)
  • Not be taking drugs known to affect digestion, metabolism or inflammation, medical or illegal
  • Not be pregnant

Taking part will require two visits of 1.5-2 hours to Loughborough University. On the first visit, simple assessments of body composition and heart function will be followed by walking exercise tests of approximately 30 minutes in total.

This will be followed by an  exercise test comprising of 20 minutes of brisk, continuous walking, with a blood and saliva sample take before, after and 1 hour after the exercise.

Participants should be physically capable of walking for 20 minutes at a brisk pace and have sufficient command of English to understand the patient information sheet and give informed consent to take part.

If you are interested in being involved in the study, please contact Patrick Highton.