Long-term treadmill exercise induces neuroprotective molecular changes in rat brain.

Exercise enhances general health. However, its effects on neurodegeneration are controversial, and the molecular pathways in the brain involved in this enhancement are poorly understood. Here, we examined the effect of long-term moderate treadmill training on adult male rat cortex and hippocampus to identify the cellular mechanisms behind the effects of exercise. We compared three animal groups: exercised (30 min/day, 12 m/min, 5 days/wk, 36 wk), handled but nonexercised (treadmill handling procedure, 0 m/min), and sedentary (nonhandled and nonexercised). Moderate long-term exercise induced an increase in IGF-1 levels and also in energy parameters, such as PGC-1α and the OXPHOS system. Moreover, the sirtuin 1 pathway was activated in both the exercised and nonexercised groups but not in sedentary rats. This induction could be a consequence of exercise as well as the handling procedure. To determine whether the long-term moderate treadmill training had neuroprotective effects, we studied tau hyperphosphory...