RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of willed movement therapy on the expression of neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) and growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43) in rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and investigate the neuroprotective mechanism of willed movement therapy in nerve regeneration and repair.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cerebral IR model was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in SD rats. The rats were randomly divided into MCAO group, environment modification group (EM group) and willed movement therapy group (WM group). The rats were evaluated for neurological deficits and decapitated on days 3, 7 and 15 after the reperfusion to examine the expressions of NT-3 and GAP-43 in the ischemic brain tissues by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with MCAO and EM groups, the rats in WM group showed significantly lowered grade of neurological deficits (P<0.05) at 15 days and significantly increased the expressions of NT-3 and GAP-43 (P<0.05) at 7 and 15 days after the reperfusion. No significant difference was found in the expression of NT-3 and GAP-43 between MCAO and EM groups (P>0.05). The expression of NT-3 was positively correlated to that of GAP-43 in the ischemic tissues.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Willed movement therapy increases the expression of NT-3 and GAP-43 in the ischemic brain area in rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, which is probably related to nerve regeneration and repair.</p>