Increases in the amount of PA observed in the AE group and higher CRF in the COMB group were related to reduced levels of ICAM-1, which is a pro-inflammatory molecule promoted by IGF and TNF-α and highly expressed in endothelial cells and related to atherosclerosis (Che et al., 2002; Frank and Lisanti, 2008). Here, IGF1 is linked to atherosclerosis.