Treadmill exercise improves hippocampal neural plasticity and relieves cognitive deficits in a mouse model of epilepsy

Epilepsy frequently leads to cognitive dysfunction and approaches to treatment remain limited.Although regular exercise effectively improves learning and memory functions across multiple neurological diseases,its application in patients with epilepsy remains controversial.Here,we adopted a 14-day treadmill-exercise paradigm in a pilocarpine injection-induced mouse model of epilepsy.Cognitive assays confirmed the improvement of object and spatial memory after endurance training,and electrophysiological studies revealed the maintenance of hippocampal plasticity as a result of physical exercise.Investigations of the mechanisms underlying this effect revealed that exercise protected parvalbumin interneurons,probably via the suppression of neuroinflammation and improved integrity of blood-brain barrier.In summary,this work identified a previously unknown mechanism through which exercise improves cognitive rehabilitation in epilepsy.

Enhancement of motor functional recovery in thoracic spinal cord injury: voluntary wheel running versus forced treadmill exercise

Spinal cord injury necessitates effective rehabilitation strategies, with exercise therapies showing promise in promoting recovery. This study investigated the impact of rehabilitation exercise on functional recovery and morphological changes following thoracic contusive spinal cord injury. After a 7-day recovery period after spinal cord injury, mice were assigned to either a trained group(10 weeks of voluntary running wheel or forced treadmill exercise) or an untrained group. Bi-weekly assessments revealed that the exercise-trained group, particularly the voluntary wheel exercise subgroup, displayed significantly improved locomotor recovery, more plasticity of dopaminergic and serotonin modulation compared with the untrained group. Additionally, exercise interventions led to gait pattern restoration and enhanced transcranial magnetic motor-evoked potentials. Despite consistent injury areas across groups, exercise training promoted terminal innervation of descending axons. In summary, voluntary wheel exercise shows promise for enhancing outcomes after thoracic contusive spinal cord injury, emphasizing the role of exercise modality in promoting recovery and morphological changes in spinal cord injuries. Our findings will influence future strategies for rehabilitation exercises, restoring functional movement after spinal cord injury.

Treadmill exercise exerts a synergistic effect with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes on neuronal apoptosis and synaptic-axonal remodeling

Treadmill exercise and mesenchymal stem cell transplantation are both practical and effective methods for the treatment of cerebral ischemia.However,whether there is a synergistic effect between the two remains unclear.In this study,we established rat models of ischemia/reperfusion injury by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery for 2 hours and reperfusion for 24 hours.Rat models were perfused with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes(MSC-exos)via the tail vein and underwent 14 successive days of treadmill exercise.Neurological assessment,histopathology,and immunohistochemistry results revealed decreased neuronal apoptosis and cerebral infarct volume,evident synaptic formation and axonal regeneration,and remarkably recovered neurological function in rats subjected to treadmill exercise and MSC-exos treatment.These effects were superior to those in rats subjected to treadmill exercise or MSC-exos treatment alone.Mechanistically,further investigation revealed that the activation of JNK1/c-Jun signaling pathways regulated neuronal apoptosis and synaptic-axonal remodeling.These findings suggest that treadmill exercise may exhibit a synergistic effect with MSC-exos treatment,which may be related to activation of the JNK1/c-Jun signaling pathway.This study provides novel theoretical evidence for the clinical application of treadmill exercise combined with MSC-exos treatment for ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Low-intensity Treadmill Exercise Promotes Rat Dorsal Wound Healing

In order to investigate the promoting effect of low-intensity treadmill exercise on rat dorsal wound healing and the mechanism, 20 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups： exercise group（Ex） and non-exercise group（non-ex）. The rats in Ex group were given treadmill exercise for one month, and those in non-ex group raised on the same conditions without treadmill exercise. Both groups received dorsal wound operation with free access to food and water. By two-week continuous observation and recording of the wound area, the healing rate was analyzed. The blood sample was collected at day 14 post-operation via cardiac puncture for determination of the number of endothelial progenitor cells（EPCs） by flow cytometry, and the concentrations of relevant cytokines such as basic fibroblast growth factor（b FGF）, endothelial nitric oxide synthase（e NOS） and vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF） were measured by ELISA. The skin tissue around the wound was dissected to observe the vascular density under the microscope after HE staining, to detect the m RNA level of VEGFR2 and angiopoietin-1（Ang-1） receptor using RT-q PCR, and protein expression of α-smooth muscle actin（αSMA） and type collagenⅢ（ColⅢ） using Western blotting. It was found that the wound area in Ex group was smaller at the same time point than in non-ex group. The number of circulating EPCs was greater and the concentrations of vasoactive factors such as VEGF, e NOS and b FGF were higher in Ex group than in non-ex group. HE staining displayed a higher vessel density in Ex group than in non-ex group. Moreover, the m RNA expression of VEGFR2 and Ang-1 detected in the wound tissue in Ex group was higher than in non-ex group. Meanwhile, the protein expression of αSMA and Col Ⅲwas more abundant in Ex group than in non-ex group. Conclusively, the above results demonstrate Ex rats had a higher wound healing rate, suggesting low-intensity treadmill exercise accelerates wound healing. The present work may provide some hint for future study of treating refractory wound.

Exercise preconditioning alleviates ischemia-induced memory deficits by increasing circulating adiponectin

Cerebral ischemia is a major health risk that requires preventive approaches in addition to drug therapy.Physical exercise enhances neurogenesis and synaptogenesis,and has been widely used for functional rehabilitation after stroke.In this study,we determined whether exercise training before disease onset can alleviate the severity of cerebral ischemia.We also examined the role of exercise-induced circulating factors in these effects.Adult mice were subjected to 14 days of treadmill exercise training before surgery for middle cerebral artery occlusion.We found that this exercise pre-conditioning strategy effectively attenuated brain infarct area,inhibited gliogenesis,protected synaptic proteins,and improved novel object and spatial memory function.Further analysis showed that circulating adiponectin plays a critical role in these preventive effects of exercise.Agonist activation of adiponectin receptors by Adipo Ron mimicked the effects of exercise,while inhibiting receptor activation abolished the exercise effects.In summary,our results suggest a crucial role of circulating adiponectin in the effects of exercise pre-conditioning in protecting against cerebral ischemia and supporting the health benefits of exercise.

Limited value of recovery phase-limited ST segment depression of treadmill exercise test

Background Clinical meaning of recovery phase limited ST segment depression of a treadmill exercise test is controversial.The aim of this study was to re-assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of ST segment depression during the recovery phase with the active phase of a treadmill exercise test in suspected coronary artery disease patients.Methods Clinical,exercise and angiographic data were retrospectively collected from 602 patients in the study.Five hundred and seventy-six patients developed ST segment depression during the active phase of the treadmill exercise test （group 1） and 26 patients developed ST segment depression only during the recovery phase （group 2）.Results With similar major clinical features,the prevalence of significant coronary artery stenosis and average Gensini scores were lower in the recovery phase-limited depression patients （group 2 vs.group 1,50.0% vs.66.9%,P=0.031 and group 2 vs.group 1,1.5 vs.8.5,P=0.04）.At a median follow up of 50.9 months for 22 group 2 and 34.8 months for 438 group 1 patients,the prevalence of total cardiac events was higher in group 1 than in group 2 patients （RR 1.60,95% Cl 1.00-2.54,P=0.049）.Conclusion The present study provides preliminary evidence that the diagnostic and prognostic value of recovery phaselimited ST segment depression of treadmill exercise test is limited.

Rehabilitation training improves exercise tolerance after percutaneous coronary intervention

The aim of this present study was to investigate the effects of training on exercise tolerance of patients with coronary heart disease after percutaneous coronary intervention.Fifty-seven cases of coronary heart disease after percutaneous coronary intervention were divided randomly into the rehabilitation training group（26 cases） and control group（31 cases）.Patients in the rehabilitation training group received rehabilitation training at different stages and exercise intensities 3 d after percutaneous coronary intervention for 3 months.The heart rate,blood pressure,ECG changes in treadmill exercise test,and the frequency of anginal episodes were observed.The results showed that NST and ΣST of ECG and the frequency of anginal episodes were significantly reduced in the rehabilitation training group.In addition,exercise tolerance was improved and the total exercise time was lengthened in these patients.Moreover,ST segment depression time and emergence time of angina with exercise were also lengthened compared with controls（P 〈 0.05,or 0.01）.However,the heart rate and blood pressure before and after exercise of the two groups were similar.The study indicated that rehabilitation training could significantly relieve angina,amend ischemic features of ECG,and improve exercise tolerance of coronary heart disease patients after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Gait improvement after treadmill training in ischemic stroke survivors A critical review of functional MRI studies

Stroke survivors often present with abnormal gait, movement training can improve the walking performance post-stroke, and functional MRI can objectively evaluate the brain functions before and after movement training. This paper analyzes the functional MRI changes in patients with ischemic stroke after treadmill training with voluntary and passive ankle dorsiflexion. Functional MRI showed that there are some changes in some regions of patients with ischemic stroke including primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor area and cingulate motor area after treadmill training. These findings suggest that treadmill training likely improves ischemic stroke patients＇ lower limb functions and gait performance and promotes stroke recovery by changing patients＇ brain plasticity; meanwhile, the novel treadmill training methods can better training effects.

Predictive treadmill score to identify coronary artery disease

Background Exercise treadmill testing（ETT） is widely used for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease（CAD）.The high false-positive and false-negative rates hamper its clinical application.Hypothesis：We examined a hypothesis that combined ETT and risk-factors of CAD to develop an easily applied predictive treadmill score（PTS） and the superiority of the novel score over the conventional ETT criteria was tested.This score can improve the diagnostic accuracy of treadmill testing for Chinese patients with suspected CAD and plan management strategies for such patients.Methods The present study comprised a retrospective analysis of 300 ETTs of Chinese patients with chest pain referred to suspected CAD who also had coronary angiography within one month after ETT.Clinical characteristics and ETT results of those with and without angiographic CAD were compared.A logistic regression model was used to construct a PTS that could accurately predict clinically significant CAD,defined as the presence of at least one 〉 70 % angiographic stenosis in a major epicardial coronary artery.The accuracy of the new PTS was compared to conventional criteria of ETT for CAD diagnosis.Results The study included 185 patients with clinically significant CAD（61.6 %） and 115（38.4 %） without CAD.Patients with significant CAD were older,more cigarettes smokers,and had higher prevalence of hypercholesterolemia,diabetes mellitus and serum CRP concentration.The PTS for CAD was derived from the logistic regression equation：Y（-1,1） =-6.94 ＋ 0.07Age ＋ 0.56Smoking ＋ 0.7DM ＋ 0.6TC /HDL ＋ 0.6ST ＋ 3.5Symptom-0.01HR.According to the derived Y value,the study subjects were classified as low,intermediate and high risk CAD groups,if Y 〈-1,-1 ≤ Y ≤ 1,and Y 〉 1 respectively.The area under the curve（AUC） of our PTS on the receiver operating curve（ROC） was 0.863.Using the PTS,the specificity,false-positive rate and the predictive accuracy for CAD detection were significantly improved compared to conventional ETT diagnostic criteria（73.6% vs.56.9%;26.4% vs.43.1%;77.6% vs.71.8%,P 〈 0.05）.Conclusions A new predictive treadmill score for CAD diagnosis was validated and found superior to the conventional criteria of ETT for the diagnosis of CAD in Chinese patients presenting with chest pain.