Whole Body Vibration Attenuates Brain Damage and Neuroinflammation Following Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is still a major public health problem worldwide, and the research of neuroprotective drugs has encountered great difficulties. Whole body vibration (WBV) is a safe and powerful rehabilitative intervention in various clinical settings, but its effect on neurological diseases is not well documented. In this study, we investigated the effects of WBV pretreatment on brain damage following experimental TBI mimicked by controlled cortical impact (CCI) in mice. C57BL/6 J male mice were expose to WBV at 30 Hz twice per day for 20 days and injured by CCI. WBV had no effect on animal body weight, but significantly reduced the TBI-induced brain edema in the cortex. The results of immunostaining showed that the activation of microglia and astrocytes induced by TBI in brain sections was attenuated by WBV. In consistent, WBV markedly inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, while increased the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10 (IL-10). In addition, WBV pretreatment alleviated neuronal apoptosis in the cortex and suppressed the cleavage of the apoptotic executive molecule caspase-1. The neurological dysfunction following TBI was determined by open field test and Morris Water Maze (MWM) assay. The results showed that motor activity, learning and memory ability were preserved by WBV compared to TBI-injured mice. In summary, our present data identified WBV as a clinically potent strategy with which to attenuate TBI-related brain damage through regulating neuroinflammation.

Whole body vibration, an alternative for exercise to improve recovery from surgery?

“…In the current experiment, two weeks intervention with low intensity (frequency of 30 Hz, amplitude of 50–200 μm) was applied to investigate brain markers related to neuroinflammation and neurogenesis. These two weeks of WBV can be considered as a relatively short duration of intervention compared to other studies with similar brain related subjects (4–12 weeks WBV) ( Huang et al, 2018 ; Raval et al, 2018 ; Cariati et al, 2021 ; Peng et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2022 ). Beneficial effects of relatively short-term (11 days) exercise intervention were demonstrated on mood and BDNF regulation ( Tomiga et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In addition, neurogenesis (based on DCX-immunostaining) seemed to be impaired in the Dentate gyrus by surgery. Although both active ( Seo et al, 2019 ; Mee-inta and Zhao, 2019 ) and passive exercises ( Peng et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2022 ) are associated with anti-inflammatory effects, neither intervention alleviated the surgery-induced neuroinflammation. However, WBV seemed to prevent the decline in neurogenesis.…”

“…In addition, there is increasing attention for integration of different interventional approaches prior to the surgical procedure as part of pre-habilitation process ( Carli and Scheede-Bergdahl, 2015 ). WBV as preoperative intervention was successfully demonstrated to ameliorate neuroinflammation and glial changes after traumatic brain injury in mice ( Chen et al, 2022 ). Hence, in addition to a post-surgical intervention, WBV may be studied as presurgical intervention as well.…”

“…Preclinical studies have shown that WBV may stimulate different brain regions and promotes the synthesis of neurotransmitters ( Ariizumi and Okada, 1985 ; Zhao et al, 2014 ; Heesterbeek et al, 2017 ) and neurotrophic factors ( Huang et al, 2018 ; Raval et al, 2018 ), alleviates (neuro)inflammation ( Peng et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2022 ; Oroszi et al, 2022a ); and improves cognitive functions ( Keijser et al, 2017 ; Boerema et al, 2018 ). Additionally, WBV may improve wound healing ( Weinheimer-Haus et al, 2014 ; Wano et al, 2021 ).…”

Potential of Whole-Body Vibration in Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human and Animal Studies

“…Indeed, a recent paper confirmed that WBV attenuated traumatic brain injury-related damage through the regulation of neuroinflammation [ 91 ]. Whether this is also true for PD should be examined in either research on animals or humans.…”