ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of exercise on the expression of synapotophysin around hemotomas after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods Ninety-five male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 270 to 300 g were divided into 3 groups: a trial group (ICH-induction and exercise, n = 20), a control group ( ICH-in-duction only, n =20) and a sham-operation group (no ICH and no exercise, n = 20). The rats' brains were re-moved at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after the operation. The other 35 rats were divided into 7 groups (6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h after ICH, no ICH and normal ). The activation of synapotophysin was measured by immunohis-tochemical techniques. The rats in the trial group begin cage-running exercise at 72 h after the operation. The oth-ers lived in standard cages. Results Synapotophysin-positive cells were seen in the tissues around the hematomas and in the cortex. There was no synapotophysin expression in the centres of the hematomas. The number of synapo-tophysin-positive cells in ICH group was significantly less than in the sham-operation and normal groups from 6 h to 24 h after the operation. There was then a gradual increase again from 48 h onwards until the 28th day after the op-eration. The trial group had the largest increases in expression. There was a significant difference compared with the control group. Compared with the sham operated group, the trial and control groups showed very significant differences. Conclusion The results suggest that synapotophysin is involved in neuron plasticity after ICH, but exercise training (cage-running) can accelerate the expression of synapotophysin, thereby improving functional re-covery.