Background: GDNF protein that is effective in neurocognitive plasticity and sarcopenia, increases with resistance training. The aim of the research is the effect of six weeks of TRX training on the GDNF protein level in the serum of elderly women.
Materials and methods: The purpose of the research is applied with a semi-experimental method including pre-test-post-test with control group.28 elderly women from retirement center of Teacher Training University,Shahid Rajaei, were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=15) with an average age of 60.86±5.60,BMI 27.65±4.22 ,control group (n=13) with an average age of 64.38±4.03,BMI 28.33 ± 2.18. In the first and last weeks, upper and lower body strength tests and GDNF protein levels were measured by ELISA kit .Shapiro-Wilk test for normality of data distribution,Levin test for homogeneity of variances,one-way analysis of covariance test (P<0.05) were performed to test hypotheses with spss24 software.
Results: Covariance analysis of upper and lower body strength were significantly different between groups (P<0.05).In adjusted averages,the GDNF protein level in the experimental group (443.102±15.751) is significantly higher than the control group (209.756±17.029)(P<0.05).
Conclusion: Six weeks of TRX training had a significant effect on the amount of GDNF protein, upper and lower body strength of elderly women, and can probably be effective in reducing or delaying sarcopenia.