Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license
Authors
1 Department of Exercise Physiology, Kish International Campus, University of Tehran, Kish, Iran.
2 Corresponding Author, Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Introduction: The effect of physical activity on some cognitive mechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients is not yet well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effect of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Motor Enriched Environment Activity (MEEA) on the expression of leptin and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the hippocampal tissue of rats with AD.
Methods: In this experimental study, 24 rats with AD were divided into AD control, HIIT, and MEEA groups. The Sham (SH) group was considered to evaluate the effect of surgery and saline injection and the Healthy control (HC) group was considered to evaluate the effect of AD induction. The HIIT group trained for eight weeks, five sessions per week, and each session consisted of nine 90-second intervals at 85% of maximum speed intensity, and the MEEA group was placed in special motor-enriched cages. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc tests were used to analyze the data (P≤0.05).
Results: The results showed that in the AD group, BDNF levels were lower (P=0.001), and leptin levels were higher (P=0.001) than in the HC group. In the HIIT group, leptin levels were lower (P=0.005), and BDNF levels were higher (P=0.019) than in the AD group. The two training groups showed no significant difference in leptin (P=0.72) and BDNF (P=0.65) levels.
Conclusion: Both HIIT and MEEA appear to be effective in improving neurotrophins and hippocampal metabolism, but the effect of HIIT is more favorable due to exercise-induced adaptation.
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