| Keywords |
Contusive spinal cord injury ; Corticospinal tracts ; Nerve regeneration ; Treadmill exercise ; Neurophysiological functional recovery |
| Abstract |
Currently, physical exercise is recommended as a therapeutic intervention to functional recovery in incomplete spinal cord injury patients. In the present study, we examined the effects of treadmill exercise on regeneration of corticospinal tracts and neurohysiological functional recovery after contusive spinal cord injury in rats. Adult rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups; (1) normal group; (2) SCI(contusion spinal cord injury) + sedentary group; (3) SCI(contusion spinal cord injury) + TMT(treadmill training exercise) group. One week after surgery, the treadmill exercise rats were exposed to treadmill low intensity exercise for 8 weeks. Using immunofluorescenestaining and anterograde tracing techniques, we identified enhanced axonal sprouting and regrowth in the corticospinal tracts after contusive spinal cord injury in rats with treadmill exercise. We also carried out western blot analysis to investigate axonal growth-associated protein (GAP-43) and Cdc2 expression in spinal cord. The neural functional assessment was determined by the BBB test. The results of present study showed that treadmill exercise increased GAP-43 and Cdc2 expression. Also, the results of present study showed that treadmill exercise decreased cavity formation. The treadmill exercise facilitated nerve regeneration in vivo by improving cell proliferation and migration, axonal sprouting and regeneration, and astrocytes after contusive spinal cord injury. It also accelerated functional recovery of hindlimb. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that treadmill exercise facilitates nerve regeneration and functional recovery after contusive spinal cord injury. |