The effect of exercise training on the circulating levels of BDNF in patients with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Brain-derived neurogenic factor (BDNF) plays an effective role in improving neurological processes, therefore it is a therapeutic target for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of exercise training on the circulating levels of BDNF in patients with MS.

PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched until April 2023 for exercise training studies on BDNF circulation levels in MS patients. This search was performed using the keywords: "exercise training", "BDNF" and "MS". Standardized mean difference (SMD) effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using CMA2 software.

20 exercise interventions from a total of 15 studies including 603 subjects with MS were included in the meta-analysis. The results of data analysis showed that exercise training with a small and significant effect size leads to an increase in the circulating levels of BDNF in patients with MS [0.45 (CI: 0.18 to 0.72), P=0.001].

exercise training leads to the positive regulation of BDNF in patients with MS, which may play an important role in controlling this disease.