Comparison of the Effect of 6 Weeks of Continuous and Interval Aerobic Training on Hippocampal Nerve Growth Factor and Catalase Enzyme in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease

Many elderly people are now suffering from Parkinson's disease, and the number of patients is growing along with the increasing elderly population. Moreover, there is also a decrease in the concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF) and antioxidant enzymes in the central nervous system of patients with Parkinson's disease. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effect of 6 weeks of continuous and interval exercises on the hippocampal NGF and catalase (CAT) enzyme of a rat model of Parkinson's disease. 

This study was conducted on 24 male rats weighing 250 to 350 g. Reserpine was induced to develop Parkinson's among rats, subsequently, they were divided into 6 groups (n=4 in each group). Following that, the training was performed for 6 weeks. At the end of the exercises, the rats were anesthetized with ketamine and xylazine, and the hippocampal tissues were removed from other parts of the brain followed by measuring NGF and CAT enzyme. The results were analyzed using a one way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test. Ethics code: EE/97.24.3.70013/scu.ac.ir

The results showed that continuous and interval training had no significant effect on NGF, and both types of exercises increased the significance of NGF. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the two training methods regarding CAT; however, the interval exercise had more effects on the CAT enzyme.

According to the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the two types of continuous and interval aerobic training can be employed to improve the NGF. Moreover, interval exercises can be utilized to improve CAT enzyme in patients with Parkinson's disease.