Physical training exerts neuroprotective effects in the regulation of neurochemical factors in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

The effect of physical training on the neurochemical and oxidative stress markers were evaluated in the striatum of rats with Parkinson's disease (PD). Untrained+sham-operated (USO), untrained+PD (UPD), trained+sham-operated (TSO), and trained+PD (TPD) were submitted to training on the treadmill. The PD was induced and 7 days after the lesion, the animals underwent a rotational test and euthanasia by decapitation. The striatum was homogenized for Western Blot with anti-tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), anti-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), anti-α-synuclein, anti-sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA II), anti-superoxide dismutase (SOD), anti-catalase (CAT), anti-glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and specific buffer for oxidative damage (TBARS and carbonyl content). The UPD and TPD groups showed a clear rotational asymmetry, apart from a significant reduction in the level of TH, BDNF, α-synuclein, SOD, CAT, and GPX as well as an increase in the TBARS and carbonyl content, as observed in the UPD group. The TH level was not significantly altered but the TPD group increased the levels of BNDF, SERCA II, SOD, and CAT and decreased the oxidative damage in lipids and protein. The effects of exercise on PD indicate the possibility that exercise, to a certain extent, modulates neurochemical status in the striatum of rats, possibly by improving the oxidative stress parameters.