After four hours, uptake of a marker of tissue glucose use ([3H] deoxy-D-glucose) increased

34%. Similarly, Mitsumoto and colleagues Luminespib in vitro (1992) subjected L6 muscle cells to 24 hours of intermittent stretch and relaxation (25% maximum elongation at 30 cycles per minute), and saw as much as a 2-fold increase in glucose marker (2-deoxy-Dglucose) uptake. Also, Iwata and colleagues (2007) reported increased glucose marker (2-deoxy-D-glucose) uptake in mechanically stretched cultured C2C12 myotubes, which they attributed to a Ca2+-dependent mechanism. Correspondingly, using isolated muscle, Ihlemann and colleagues (1999) stretched rat soleus passively for five minutes, and found a 50% increase in uptake of the same glucose marker (2-deoxy-D-glucose). Lastly, in an in situ study, Nie and colleagues (2000) reported an increase in glucose transporters (GLUT 1) in denervated hemidiaphragm. They postulated that the increase in the glucose transporters could have resulted by the passive stretched imposed on the denervated hemidiaphragm by the activity of the contralateral side. It is therefore possible that an individual could experience a noticeable decrease in blood glucose following a program of successive sustained muscle stretches. Passive stretching requires minimum effort by the Bioactive Compound Library screening person experiencing the stretch, can be performed while sitting

or lying down, and can enhance feelings of comfort. Hence, people who are reluctant or unable to exercise may be willing to submit to a stretching protocol. The research question was: Can a regimen of passive stretching lower blood

glucose levels following a glucose challenge in people with Type 2 diabetes or who are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes? Participants were tested twice with three days between tests. For each test the participants reported to the laboratory two hours after eating a meal, and immediately drank a 355 ml (12 almost fl. oz.) can of fruit juice (~ 43 g carbohydrate). Thirty minutes after drinking the fruit juice, the participants went through either a 40-min passive static stretching regimen or a mock passive stretching regimen (ie, participants assumed the stretch positions, but no tension was placed upon the musculature). The order of the interventions (ie, stretching or mock stretching) was assigned in a random, balanced order. Adults were recruited from the population of Laie, Hawaii (population approximately 5000) to participate in the study. To be eligible to participate, the volunteer had to have been diagnosed either as having Type 2 diabetes, or as being ‘at risk’ for Type 2 diabetes by having at least three of the following four risk factors: sedentary, aged at least 45 yr, BMI at least 25 kg/m2, and a family history of Type 2 diabetes. The experimental condition involved a stretching program that consisted of six lower body and four upper body static passive stretches.