Neonatal Exercise and Age-Related Oxidative Stress of the Rat Cerebral Cortex

Aging is related to increased oxidative damage, since Harman proposed the “free-radical theory of aging”. The cerebral tissue is strongly susceptible to oxidative stress (OS). Although, exercise can counteract OS by increasing anti-oxidative defenses, it is not necessarily clear which factor of the exercise protocol is more critical. Furthermore, neonatal moderate exercise can decrease brain excitability in a long-lasting manner (Batista-de-Oliveira et al 2012), however, the underlying mechanisms are still not clear. Therefore, we evaluated if the effects of neonatal moderate exercise is related to OS in cerebral cortexes of aged rats (585 days of age). At 15 days old, Wistar rats (n=20) were equally distributed in sedentary or exercised. The treadmill exercise was performed according to Batista-de-Oliveira et al (Exp Gerontology 47: 452–457, 2012). Malondialdehyde was measured as described by Buege & Aust (M Enzymol 52, 302-310; 1978), Sulfhydryl content by G. Leipnitz et al. (Life Sciences 87 275–280; 2...