The effects of early exercise on brain plasticity after focal cerebral infarction in rats.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early treadmill training after cerebral infarction in rats. This study might provide a basic evidence of rehabilitation medicine. Fifty-four- 8-week old male Wistar rats weighing 200-300g were used in this study. The filament (4-0 nylon suture with blunted tip) was inserted into the left common carotid artery by an arteriotomy. It was then passed up through the lumen of the internal carotid artery and lodged in the narrow proximal anterior cerebral artery, blocking the MCA at its origin. Reperfusion was established by withdrawal of the filament by 90 min. Next day after surgery, stroke rats were randomly assigned to two groups : treadmill-exercised group or non-exercised controls. After ischemia, the rats were received to run on a treadmill for 20 min once a day. All rats were observed the absence of motor coordination and neurological deficits after surgery. The improvement of the motor behavioral and the neurological score in the exercised groups was better than those in non-exercised groups. Particularly, the score in the exercised groups was significantly improved compared with those in non-exercised groups at 14 days after surgery (P<0.05). The runner had the increased expression of midkine (MK) over the non-runner with or without MCA occlusion for 3 days.