Dados do Trabalho

Título

Neurodegenerative diseases: what are the impacts of the exercise? A systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental models

Introdução

The neurophysiological effects of exercise on brain and behavior and its mechanistic basis deserve clarification.

Objetivo

This review and metanalysis examines the strength of scientific evidence on how exercise modifies brain and behavior in healthy mice, in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) models

Métodos

Search (PubMed) included the words: “mice”, “treadmill”, “exercise”, “physical exercise”, “cognition”, “brain”, “depression”, “anxiety”, “memory”, “learning” or “behavior”

Resultados

In most studies, animals (N=1,172; 96 articles) exercised 4-8 weeks, 60 min/day and 10/12m/min. Hippocampus followed by cerebral cortex, striatum and whole brain were more frequently investigated. Exercise improved learning and memory. Meta-analysis showed that exercise increased: cerebral BDNF, TrkB levels and neurogenesis. Exercise augmented amyloid clearance and reduced amyloid plaques in AD models. In PD models, dopaminergic neurons were increased. Evidence regarding inflammation, oxidative stress and energy metabolism were scarce. Studies on acute versus chronic exercise, extreme training and the durability of exercise benefit were rare.

Conclusões

In conclusion, meta-analysis showed that exercise had positive effects on brain and behavior, directly and indirectly related to neurogenesis in healthy and dementia models. Exercise reduced toxicity and inhibited amyloid pathology in AD model. Few studies on PD models were reported. Vascular or glucose metabolism changes were rarely reported. The underpinning mechanism explaining exercise benefits on brain tissue needs clarification.

Palavras-chave

Treadmill exercise; Brain; Cognition; Neurogenesis; Neurological disorders.