ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease affects thousands of people worldwide. Alternatives aiming to prevent the disease or reduce its symptoms include different physical exercise configurations. Here we investigate the potential of concurrent exercise to prevent recognition memory deficits in an Alzheimer's disease-like model induced by the hippocampal beta-amyloid (Aß) injection in Wistar rats. We demonstrate that the concurrent exercise, which included running and strength exercises performed in the same exercise session, is ineffective in preventing recognition memory deficits in the Aß rats. Besides, higher levels of reactive oxygen species were found in the concurrent exercise group's hippocampus. The running exercise administrated alone prevented recognition memory impairments.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease , Amyloid beta-Peptides , Alzheimer Disease/complications , Alzheimer Disease/prevention & control , Amyloid beta-Peptides/metabolism , Amyloid beta-Peptides/toxicity , Animals , Disease Models, Animal , Hippocampus/metabolism , Humans , Memory Disorders/etiology , Memory Disorders/prevention & control , Rats , Rats, WistarABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of the amyloid-ß peptide in the brain, leading to early oxidative stress and neurotoxicity. It has been suggested that physical exercise could be beneficial in preventing AD, but studies with multicomponent training are scanty. OBJECTIVE: Verify the effects of multicomponent exercise training to prevent deficits in recognition memory related to Aß neurotoxicity. METHODS: We subjected Wistar rats to multicomponent training (including aerobic and anaerobic physical exercise and cognitive exercise) and then infused amyloid-ß peptide into their hippocampus. RESULTS: We show that long-term multicomponent training prevents the amyloid-ß-associated neurotoxicity in the hippocampus. It reduces hippocampal lipid peroxidation, restores antioxidant capacity, and increases glutathione levels, finally preventing recognition memory deficits. CONCLUSION: Multicomponent training avoids memory deficits related to amyloid-ß neurotoxicity on an animal model.
Subject(s)
Amyloid beta-Peptides/toxicity , Disease Models, Animal , Memory Disorders/prevention & control , Neurotoxicity Syndromes , Physical Conditioning, Animal , Animals , Brain , Hippocampus/metabolism , Lipid Peroxidation/physiology , Male , Oxidative Stress/physiology , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Stereotaxic TechniquesABSTRACT
In 2020 universities had to quickly implement remote education alternatives as a result of the social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep students engaged with the university, we implemented a teaching-learning model that relates physiology contents to the COVID-19 pandemic using online educational platforms. A 1-mo web course was proposed for health sciences students from the Federal University of Pampa. It included synchronous meetings twice a week and asynchronous activities using scientific articles, case studies, and interactive online tools. The students approved the methodology developed, assessing it as dynamic and innovative. They reported that the activity helped to better understand the relations between COVID-19 and physiological systems. The web course also contributed to the identification of reliable sources of news and stimulated the sharing of scientific content with their families. We concluded that the use of online platforms contextualizing the physiology content considering current events helps students in learning human physiology and improves their abilities to apply this information to their daily life, in this specific case, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
