The effects of treadmill exercise on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity

Abstract

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of short-, moderate- and long-duration treadmill exercise (15, 30 and 60 min) on the mean frequency and amplitude of penicillin-induced epileptiform activity in rats.Material and methodsIn this study, 32 rats were assigned to 15, 30, and 60 min running exercise groups and the control group, each consisting of 8 rats. According to the specified protocol, the rats were submitted to running exercises at the same hour of each day for 90 days. After the exercise program, the rats were administered (500 IU/2.5 µl) of penicillin into the left cortex by the microinjection method. An electrocorticogram (ECoG) recording was performed for 3 h using a data acquisition system. The frequency and the amplitude of the recordings were analyzed.ResultsShort-duration treadmill exercise (15 min) caused a decrease in the frequency of penicillin-induced epileptiform activity at 70 min after penicillin injection (p < 0.001). The mean frequency of epileptiform activity decreased at 90 min after penicillin injection in the 30 and 60 min treadmill exercise groups (p < 0.01). The mean amplitude of epileptiform activity was not changed in any of the exercise groups compared to the control (p > 0.05).ConclusionsThe results of the present study demonstrate for the first time that short-, moderate- and long-duration treadmill exercises decreased the frequency of penicillin-induced epileptiform activity. These findings may contribute to improving the quality of life in epileptic patients.

Epilepsy, Physical Activity and Sports: A Narrative Review

“…One hypothesis for this finding is that increased vigilance and attention required in PA may reduce seizure frequency 47 . Basic research has shown that short-duration swimming exercise 48 and short-, moderate- and long-duration treadmill exercises 49 consistently decreased the frequency of penicillin-induced epileptiform activity in male Wistar rats. Likewise, a reduction in the number of clinical and electrographic seizures has been observed with both strengthening (i.e., weightlifting) and aerobic exercises 50 …”

The Potential Role of Previous Physical Exercise Program to Reduce Seizure Susceptibility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Animal Studies

“…From the positive findings, reduced spike/wave frequency and spike/wave amplitude were demonstrated after exercise intervention. Of note, a study reported a reduction of spike/wave frequency in different exercise durations (short, moderate, and long duration) after penicillin injection (30). Positive outcomes were observed in subsequent studies from the same group (31,32).…”

“…Only studies that used exercise intervention before SE induction were included. Six studies used a treadmill (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33), five studies used swimming (34)(35)(36)(37)(38), two studies used a running wheel (39,40), and two studies used combined exercise: one applied treadmill and swimming (41), and the other used running wheel and treadmill (42). The total duration of exercise ranged between 21 and 90 days.…”

“…The frequency ranged from five to seven times a week, and two studies did not report session frequency and duration (39,40). Among the chemoconvulsants used in the selected studies, two used pentylenetetrazol (34,35), five used penicillin (30)(31)(32)(33)36), four used kainic acid (37)(38)(39)(40), three pilocarpine (28,41,42), and one homocysteine (29). See details in Table 1.…”

“…From 15 included studies, 13 demonstrated that physical exercise reduced seizure susceptibility induced by different chemoconvulsants such as homocysteine thiolactone (HCT), pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), penicillin, kainite, or pilocarpine (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41) and two studies revealed no significant difference in seizure susceptibility between the exercise and control groups (33,42), which suggests a potential protective effect of exercise against seizure susceptibility.…”