The Effect of 8 Weeks of Resistance Training on Serum Levels of BDNF Protein in HIV Patients

The AIDS or human immunodeficiency virus syndrome is a disease that occurs in immune system by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A large percentage of HIV patients suffer from motor-cognitive impairments such as dementia and motor deficit. One of the reasons of these patients’ cognitive problems is a decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). On the other hand, it has been shown that resistance training is an appropriate intervention to increase BDNF. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of resistance training on serum levels of BDNF in HIV patients. 18 HIV patients were randomly divided into two groups: control and resistance training (RT). RT group performed resistance training by elastic bands 3 sessions per week. In the first four weeks, there was only RT with elastic bands with the resistance of about 65% one-repetition maximum. The second four weeks included RT with elastic bands and the resistance equal to 75% one-repetition maximum and body weight exercises were added to the training program in the second four weeks. Blood sample were collected from subjects’ vein 24 hours before and 48 hours after the protocol. The serum levels of BDNF were evaluated using ELISA kit. Paired t test was used to determine the changes in the variables (P≤0.05). The serum levels of BDNF significantly decreased in RT group (P=0.01) after the training protocol (about 69%). According to these results, it seems that resistance training is not an appropriate intervention to increase BDNF and improve cognitive disorders in HIV patients.