Continuous exercises with different intensities and effectiveness on the anti-apoptotic BAX / BCL-2 / Caspase-3 pathway in the rehabilitation period after stroke in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of two types of continuous training with increasing duration and intensity (CTID, CTII) on the apoptosis pathway of nerve cells in the penumbra region during the rehabilitation period after stroke.
Materials and methods: 30 Sprague-Dawley rats (age 8 weeks, weight 265 ± 15 grams) were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups: stroke, stroke+CTID exercises, and stroke+CTII exercises. Induction of stroke was done by (t-dMCAO) method. The CTID and CTII training protocol was performed 24 hours after the stroke with a speed (10 m/MIN) and a duration (10 min), and then the duration and intensity of the exercises increased progressively. MRI and behavioral tests were performed in this period. 48 hours after the last session, the rats were sacrificed and after dissection of the penumbra area, the tissues were evaluated for laboratory analysis.
Results: The results of the one-way ANOVA statistical test showed a significant difference in the changes in the ratio of BAX/BCL-2 and Caspase-3 between the groups, and these changes were only observed in the CTID group compared to the CTII and the stroke group. (P=0.042, P=0.028) and (P=0.036, P=0.021). In addition, the results of the behavioral test in both training groups were significantly different from the stroke group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The findings of the present study show that CTID exercise for rehabilitation in the acute phase after stroke can be presented as a suitable solution for prescribing sports exercises in the acute phase after stroke.