Background & Objective: Inflammation has a dominant role in the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, and pro-inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), fuel inflammatory reactions in brain tissue. This study was conducted to determine the effect of 8-week endurance training on TNF-α gene expression in the hippocampus of rats after brain stroke.
Materials & Methods: Twenty one adult male Wistar rats (weighing 210-252 gr) were purchased and randomly divided into three groups: control, stroke and stroke+ training groups. Stroke was induced by the occlusion of both common carotid arteries (CCA) for 45 min. The rats in the training group were run on a treadmill with a speed of 18 to 30 meters per minute for 20 to 50 minutes per session, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, rats were sacrificed and gene expression of TNF-α in the hippocampus was measured with Real Time-PCR technique.
Results: Results showed that endurance training resulted in a significant decrease in gene expression of TNF-α in the hippocampus of rats (p=0.0001). Also, in comparison with the control group, stroke led to a significant increase in gene expression of TNF-α in the hippocampus of the stroke group (p=0.0001).
Conclusion: In general, 8 weeks of endurance training can strongly affect pro-inflammatory factors associated with stroke via decreasing TNF-α. Therefore, it is recommended that endurance training be used as a non-pharmacological treatment for the prevention of neurological complications associated with stroke.