Reduced mortality and brain damage after locomotor activity in gerbil forebrain ischemia

Abstract

Background and PurposePreischemic spontaneous locomotor activity was distinguished in this laboratory as a factor influencing outcome after 15 and 20 minutes of forebrain ischemia in gerbils. Histological investigations were carried out to analyze potential relations between postischemic survival and a reduction of cerebral damage by spontaneous locomotor activity. MethodsMale Mongolian gerbils were divided into two groups, one with access to running wheels ("runners") and one kept in conventional cages ("nonrunners") for 2 weeks preceding forebrain ischemia of 15 or 20 minutes. A total of 99 gerbils were divided in subgroups and were allowed to recover for 2 weeks for assessment of survival. Other subgroups (n=7 to 9) were killed at day 4 for quantitative histology of selectively vulnerable areas such as hippocampus, cortex, striatum, and thalamus. ResultsTwo weeks after 15-minute ischemia, 44% of non-runners had survived compared with 90% of runners (P