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. 2017 Jan;8(1):77-84.
doi: 10.15412/J.BCN.03080110.

Neuroprotective Effects of Exercise on Brain Edema and Neurological Movement Disorders Following the Cerebral Ischemia and Reperfusion in Rats

Nabi Shamsaei  1 , Soheila Erfani  2 , Masoud Fereidoni  2 , Ali Shahbazi  3
Affiliations

Neuroprotective Effects of Exercise on Brain Edema and Neurological Movement Disorders Following the Cerebral Ischemia and Reperfusion in Rats

Nabi Shamsaei et al. Basic Clin Neurosci. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Cerebral ischemia and reperfusion causes physiological and biochemical changes in the neuronal cells that will eventually lead to cell damage. Evidence indicates that exercise reduces the ischemia and reperfusion-induced brain damages in animal models of stroke. In the present study, the effect of exercise preconditioning on brain edema and neurological movement disorders following the cerebral ischemia and reperfusion in rats was investigated.

Methods: Twenty-one adult male wistar rats (weighing 260-300 g) were randomly divided into three groups: sham operated, exercise plus ischemia, and ischemia group (7 rats per group). The rats in exercise group were trained to run on a treadmill 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Transient focal cerebral ischemia and reperfusion were induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 60 minutes, followed by reperfusion for 23 hours. After 24 hours ischemia, movement disorders were tested by a special neurological examination. Also, cerebral edema was assessed by determining the brain water content.

Results: The results showed that pre-ischemic exercise significantly reduced brain edema (P<0.05). In addition, exercise preconditioning decreased the neurological movement disorders caused by brain ischemia and reperfusion (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Preconditioning by exercise had neuroprotective effects against brain ischemia and reperfusion-induced edema and movement disorders. Thus, it could be considered as a useful strategy for prevention of ischemic injuries, especially in people at risk.

Keywords: Edema; Exercise; Ischemia and reperfusion; Movement disorders; Preconditioning.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ischemia leads to an increase in BWC% (edema) while exercise preconditioning attenuates the edema formation. Data were shown as Mean±SEM. *Significant difference compared with the sham group (P<0.01). #Significant difference compared with the ischemia group (P<0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Exercise preconditioning leads to improvement of neurological movement disorders induced by ischemia. Data were shown as Mean±SEM. *Significant difference compared with the sham group (P<0.001). #Significant difference compared with the sham (P<0.001) and ischemia groups (P<0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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