Treadmill Exercise Training Ameliorates Apoptotic Cells and DNA Oxidation in the Cerebral Cortex of Rats Exposed to Chronic Ketamine Abuse.
Addiction biology March 1, 2025 Salar Sabziparvar, Kazem Khodaei, Javad Tolouei Azar 1 citation
Moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) reduces apoptosis and oxidative damage in the cerebral cortex of rats with chronic ketamine abuse. In a study of 24 Wistar rats, those receiving 50 mg/kg/day ketamine for 8 weeks and then undergoing 8 weeks of MICT showed significantly fewer apoptotic cells and lower expression of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3, along with higher anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, compared to rats that only withdrew from ketamine without exercise. MICT also decreased oxidative stress markers (8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine) and increased antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase, as well as nitric oxide. Levels of malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase did not differ between groups. The findings suggest exercise can mitigate ketamine-induced brain damage.