The effect of intermittent fasting with and without voluntary physical activity on BDNF and motor balance in middle age rats
Poster Presentation
Paper ID : 1948-SSRC
Authors
1دانشگاه شهید بهشتی
2Department of Biological Sciences in Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Aging is associated with a decline in motor and cognitive functions, with middle age marking the onset of this deterioration. Intermittent fasting (IF) has been identified as a potential factor capable of slowing down and even reversing the aging process. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests combining Voluntary physical activity (VPA) with IF may yield more substantial benefits. This study explored the impact of IF with and without VPA on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Motor Balance in middle-aged rats. An eight-week study was conducted on 18, 12 months male rats assigned randomly to three groups: control (C), fasting (F), and fasting with access to a voluntary running wheel (FT). While all groups had unrestricted access to water, only Group C had unrestricted access to food. The other two groups had food access limited to six hours per day. Daily food consumption and weekly weight changes were recorded for all groups. At the end of the study, the Rotarod test was performed, and hippocampal tissue extraction occurred 24 hours later. BDNF protein level was measured by Elisa method and The results of rotarod and BDNF Elisa Test were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Weekly weight changes showed no significant differences between groups in any week (p > 0.05). In the seventh week, FT group’s food consumption was more than other groups (p < 0.05). Rotarod test results demonstrated superior performance in the FT group compared to the other groups (p < 0.05), with the IF group being better than the C group (p < 0.05). BDNF level revealed a significant difference only between the FT and C groups (p < 0.05), despite the FT group having the highest average and the C group the lowest values. The findings indicate that when intermittent fasting (IF) is combined with voluntary exercise, it has greater benefits for motor balance in the Rotarod test and brain health by increasing the level of BDNF in the hippocampus. This effect is particularly relevant for middle-aged and elderly individuals in delaying the aging process.
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