Abstract

Exercise can be used to enhance neuroplasticity and facilitate motor recovery after a stroke in rats. We investigated whether treadmill running could reduce brain damage and enhance the expression of midkine (MK) and nerve growth factor (NGF), increase angiogenesis and decrease the expression of caspase-3. Seventy-seven Wistar rats were split into three experimental groups (ischaemia-control: 36, ischaemia-exercise: 36, sham-exercise: 5). Stroke was induced by 90-min left middle cerebral artery occlusion using an intraluminal filament. Beginning on the following day, the rats were made to run on a treadmill for 20 min once a day for a maximum of 28 consecutive days. Functional recovery after ischaemia was assessed using the beamwalking test and a neurological evaluation scale in all rats. Infarct volume, and the expression of MK, NGF, anti-platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1), and caspase-3 were evaluated at 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 28 days after the induction of ischaemia. Over time motor coordination and neurological deficits improved more in the exercised group than in the non-exercised group. The infarct volume in the exercised group (12.4 ± 0.8%) subjected to treadmill running for 28 days was significantly decreased compared with that in the control group (19.8 ± 4.2%, P < 0.01). The cellular expression levels of MK, NGF and PECAM-1 were significantly increased while that of caspase-3 was decreased in the peri-infarct area of the exercised rats. Our findings show that treadmill exercise improves motor behaviour and reduces neurological deficits and infarct volume, suggesting that it may aid recovery from central nervous system injury.

Highlights

  • Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term physical disability

  • We examined rats after transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion to determine whether (1) regular motor exercise on a treadmill immediately after ischaemia/reperfusion injury reduced neurological deficits and infarct volume; (2) the neuroprotective effect of exercise was associated with cellular expression of MK and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the cortex and striatum as well as angiogenesis in regions of the brain supplied by the MCA and (3) effects of treadmill exercise on ischaemia/reperfusion-induced neuronal injury in rats are recognizable

  • We hypothesized that endogenous growth factors and angiogenesis play roles in the neuroprotective effects of physical exercise against the damage caused by cerebral ischaemia

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Summary

Introduction

Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term physical disability. There is increasing evidence that physical activity is associated with decreased incidence of stroke in humans (Evenson et al 1999, Hu et al 2000, Greenlund et al 2002, Lee et al 2003a). Physical exercise may ameliorate neurological impairment by impeding neuronal loss following various brain insults, and exercise has been proposed as a possible means of treatment for such conditions, and especially in stroke patients. Exercise has beneficial effects on brain function, including the promotion of plasticity. Several studies have substantiated the beneficial effects of early exercise on ischaemiainduced brain injury in animal models (Stummer et al 1994, 1995, Wang et al 2001, Ang et al 2003, Endres et al 2003). The behavioural improvements and structural alterations in the brain that occu

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