Introduiction: This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of 12-week voluntary exercise using a running wheel on the striatum  dopaminergic neurons against 6-hydroxydopamine lesions in rats.
Materials and method: Twenty five rats were divided into three groups including healthy, parkinson and training-parkinson. The training groups were housed in individual cages geared with running wheels. To induce parkinson, 250 microlitre of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) dissolved in saline was administered intracerebrovenricular (ICV) by a stereotaxic apparatus. Tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine levels in the striatum were measured by ELISA. The obtained data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and least significant difference (LSD) post-hoc test.
Results: The mean running distance of subjects was 5384 meter per day.In this study, dopamine levels between the exercise and parkinson control groups had significant differences. In other words, a decrease in the dopamine level was prevented in the training group (P=0.001). Dopamine levels in the exercise group remained almost the same level as the healthy group (P=0.129). However, the tyrosine hydroxylase level did not change in the training and control groups.
Conclusion:Pre-treatment with the voluntary exercise causes an increase in the strength and life-span of dopaminergic neurons striatum against oxidative damage caused by 6-OHDA toxicity, and has a protective role against parkinson’s disease.