We will test whether the addition of moderate aerobic exercise in stroke patients after 3 months of stroke onset can alter resting serum BDNF concentrations and physical function through a preliminary study.
The subjects were three first-episode stroke victims who had had a stroke for more than 3 months. Exclusion criteria were cognitive decline with difficulty understanding the task, higher brain dysfunction, severe cardiac disease, respiratory disease, and beta-blocker use. The intervention consisted of a randomized assignment to an aerobic exercise group using a bicycle ergometer for voluntary training or a stretching group, in addition to the usual rehabilitation. Each was performed for 40 minutes five times a week for four weeks. Aerobic exercise was performed at a target heart rate of 60% Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) for a total of 40 minutes, including 5 minutes each for warm-up and cool-down. Stretching was performed in a sitting position for 40 minutes, targeting all muscles in the body. The heart rate was measured in real time with a portable heart rate monitor. Blood samples for BDNF analysis were collected on the day before and 4 weeks after the intervention, and physical function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Lower Extremity: FMA-LA, Lower Extremity Motricity Index: LE-MI, 10m walk, modified Rankin Scale: mRs) was measured every week. This study was conducted with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of Seijoh University (2022C0018). Subjects were informed of the study in writing and orally, and their consent was obtained in writing.
There were 3 patients (Haemorrhage 1, infarction 2) in the aerobic exercise group and 0 patients in the stretching group. Serum BDNF in the aerobic exercise group increased from 19.4±4.6 ng/dl to 20.9±6.3 ng/dl, an increase rate of 107.8%. The mean before and 4 weeks after the intervention in physical function changed from 15.3 to 23.0 for FMA-LA, 47.0 to 68.7 for LE-MI, 0.48 m/sec to 0.5 m/sec for walking speed, and 4.0 to 2.7 for mRs. The exercise load in the aerobic exercise group averaged 40.3%HRR and 64.2% HRmax for 4 weeks.
The bicycle ergometer exercise in the stroke patients may become a means for safely increasing the serum BDNF in the rest, and it is also necessary to accumulate the symptom example number including the stretching group, and to carry out the examination according to the seriousness.
The increase in resting serum BDNF during aerobic exercise using a bicycle ergometer may be an indicator of a specific program to promote functional recovery in stroke patients.
aerobic exercise
serum BDNF
