Early physical exercise and seizure susceptibility later in life

Abstract

We conducted a study to examine whether physical exercise undertaken during the period of postnatal brain development could modify seizure susceptibility later in life. Male Wistar rats aged 21 postnatal days (P21) were divided into two groups: exercise and control. Animals in the exercise group were submitted to daily exercise on the treadmill between P21 and P60. Running time and speed gradually increased over this period, reaching a maximum of 18 m/min for 60 min. After the final exercise session (P60), animals from exercise group were maintained non-trained for 90 days. This "period without stimulus" was used to observe the influence of early physical exercise on susceptibility to seizures induced by the pilocarpine model of epilepsy at P150. The results showed that the exercise program undertaken during the period of postnatal brain development delayed the onset and reduced the intensity of pilocarpine-induced motor symptoms in midlife rats. These findings suggest that early exercise interferes positively in the later ictogenesis process, and support the hypothesis that physical activity in early life may build a neural reserve against brain disorders.

Physical activity and brain development

“…Similar findings have been found in experimental studies [5,[65][66][67]. In a classic study, Uysal et al [65] investigated learning and memory in rats subjected to physical exercise on a treadmill (at speed of 8 m/min, 30 min daily, 5 days/week) during adolescence and early adulthood (P22-P78).…”

“…Interestingly, 2 and 4 weeks after the exercise ended, rats that had previously exercised as adolescents successfully discriminated between the novel and familiar items when retested with new objects. In studies conducted by our research group [5,67], it was also noted that an aerobic exercise program undertaken on a treadmill during rats' adolescent period (P21-P60) improved spatial learning and memory (when tested in the water maze at P60-P65), enhanced the ability to evoke spatial memories in later life (when tested in the water maze at P96) [5] and interfered positively in the later ictogenesis process (i.e., it delayed the onset and reduced the intensity of seizure motor symptoms in midlife rats when pilocarpine was administrated at P150) [67]. These data support the idea that exercising during youth may result in sustained health benefits.…”

“…Delayed the onset and reduced the intensity of seizure motor symptoms in midlife rats (when administrated pilocarpine 90 days after last session of exercise) [67] Review treadmill exercise (from P29 to P35) enhanced neurogenesis (BrdU/NeuN-double-labeled) in the dentate gyrus of rats. However, this neurogenic effect of exercise was found for lowintensity exercise, but not for moderate-and high-intensity exercise [69].…”

The Role of Non-Drug Treatment Methods in the Management of Epilepsy

“…Consequently, physically active patients have a lower risk of developing the cognitive impairments associated with epilepsy. (15)(16)(17) The preventive and curative effects of physical activity in cases of epilepsy can be achieved in accordance with several principles, including the principles of consistency, regularity, duration, monitoring, and personalization of the training load. Despite this, it is believed that enhanced muscular activity is accompanied with tachypnea (hyperventilation), which can initiate the seizures.…”

The effects of treadmill exercise on oxidative stress in Mongolian gerbils with penicillin-induced epilepsy

“…In addition, regular exercise can relieve psychological and cardiovascular adverse events in epileptic patients and reduce the number of seizures [17]. It has been suggested that regular exercise in the adolescent period may modulate neuronal susceptibility to epileptogenic insults in later stages of life [24,25]. Long-term exercise in benign epileptic children may contribute to the development and regulation of neurocognitive and psychological function [26].…”