Volume 24, Issue 101, January - February, 2020

The effect of periodic exercise on the levels of vascular factor and functional index in patients with ischemic stroke

Kadkhodaei Khalafi M¹, Shakeri N^2♦, Ghazalian F³, Shojaei M⁴

¹Ph.D. student of Physiology of Exercise, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran, Email: kadkhodaei.m1350@gmail.com
²Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Physiology of Exercise, the Department of Sports Physiology, the Building of the Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran, Email: nsprofsport@gmail.com
³Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Physiology of Exercise, the Department of Sports Physiology, the Building of the Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
⁴MD. Assistant Professor of Neurology, the Department of Internal Neurology, the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

^♦Corresponding author
Assistant Professor of Physiology of Exercise, the Department of Sports Physiology, the Building of the Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran, Email: nsprofsport@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background: By reducing or stopping blood flow, a part of the brain suffers from cerebral ischemia with neurological deficits. Angiogenesis can play a role in repairing a damaged brain tissue, as exercise has an inductive role in the prevention of vascular disease. The aim of the research is to determine the effect of the approach of periodic exercise on the angiogenesis process from the acute phase of stroke on the vascular endothelial growth factor and the cognitive-functional index. Materials and Methods: 30 participants with ischemic stroke aged 45-65 years were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups (15 persons in each group). The experimental group performed periodic exercises for 3 seconds with 4 to 6 repetitions and 70 to 85% of the maximal oxygen consumption and rest for 4.5 minutes, 3 times a week. Venous blood samples of 5 cc were taken from the patients on admission and at 30th day following admission. The levels of Endothelial growth factor as the primary outcome and the motor and speech performance as the secondary outcome were assessed at the beginning and end of the study by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and the independent t-test at the alpha level P ≤ 0.05. Results: The serum levels of the vascular endothelial growth factor were significantly increased at the alpha level (P = 0.05) after the aerobic periodic exercise. The secondary outcome, the numerical scale of the motor and speech performance, was also significant after four weeks. Conclusion: Performing periodic exercises during four weeks can play a role in reducing brain damage by altering the levels of angiogenesis‐related factor and performance.

Keywords: Angiogenesis, Periodic exercise, Ischemic stroke

Medical Science, 2020, 24(101), 174-182

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