Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the influence of acute moderate-intensity exercise on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in healthy young Japanese men. BDNF is one of a family of neurotrophic factors involved in neuronal transmission, modulation and plasticity. Previous human-based studies have demonstrated that acute exercise leads to increases in BDNF; however, to date there has been no study conducted among Japanese male subjects.MethodsForty young adult Japanese men (aged 24.1 ± 2.9 years) – reduced to a total of thirty three following subjection to exclusion criteria – performed 30 minutes of exercise at 60% of VO2max on a stationary bicycle. Serum BDNF was analyzed both before and after exercise.ResultsEighteen of the total thirty three subjects demonstrated an increase in serum BDNF after exercise. However, on aggregate, the change in serum BDNF associated with exercise was not significant (p = .17).ConclusionsThis is the first study to demonstrate that serum BDNF levels are not consistently increased by acute moderate-intensity exercise in Japanese men. It is likely that something in the lifestyle and/or environment of male Japanese subjects underlies the difference between our findings and studies conducted in other countries.
Highlights
35.6 million people worldwide were living with dementia in 2010, with the prevalence expected to increase to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050 (Prince et al 2013)
This is the first study to demonstrate that serum brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels are not consistently increased by acute moderate-intensity exercise in Japanese men
It is likely that something in the lifestyle and/or environment of male Japanese subjects underlies the difference between our findings and studies conducted in other countries
Summary
35.6 million people worldwide were living with dementia in 2010, with the prevalence expected to increase to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050 (Prince et al 2013). Numerous studies suggest that regular physical activity could reduce the incidence of cognitive impairment and dementia in older people at risk for these disorders. One possible mechanism involves changes in brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels associated with aerobic exercise. This relationship was first observed in animal studies which demonstrated that physical activity increases the expression of BDNF in the rat brain (Neeper et al 1995). Since this discovery, a number of studies have sought to establish the link between the neurothrophin BDNF and post-exercise enhancement of mood and cognitive functions in humans (Zoladz and Pilc 2010). Higher BDNF serum levels are associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline in AD patients (Laske et al 2011)
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