RESUMO
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder triggered by lifethreatening events that cause intense fear. Exercise is known to have protective effects on neuropsychiatric diseases. The present study investigated whether treadmill exercise during pregnancy reduced or alleviated symptoms of PTSD in maternal rats. To induce predator stress in pregnant rats, rats were exposed to a hunting dog in an enclosed room. Exposure time was three 10min daily sessions separated by 1 h, starting at week 1 of pregnancy until delivery. Pregnant rats in the exercise group were forced to run on a treadmill for 30 min once a day, starting one week following pregnancy until delivery. Rats receiving predator stress during pregnancy exhibited PTSD anxietylike behaviors following delivery. Expression of 5hydroxytryptamine (5HT) and its synthesizing enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) in the dorsal raphe was increased compared with unstressed rats. Expression of cFos and neuronal nitric oxide synthases (nNOS) in the hypothalamus and locus coeruleus were higher in the rats receiving stress during pregnancy compared with unstressed rats. By contrast, treadmill exercise during pregnancy ameliorated anxietylike behaviors and reduced the expression of 5HT, TPH, cFos and nNOS in the PTSD maternal rats. The results of the present study indicate that exercise during pregnancy is suitable for use as a therapeutic strategy to reduce anxietyrelated disorders, including PTSD.
Assuntos
Ansiedade , Condicionamento Físico Animal , Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos/terapia , Animais , Terapia por Exercício , Feminino , Hipotálamo/metabolismo , Imuno-Histoquímica , Locus Cerúleo/metabolismo , Óxido Nítrico Sintase Tipo I/metabolismo , Gravidez , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-fos/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Serotonina/metabolismo , Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos/metabolismo , Transtornos de Estresse Pós-Traumáticos/patologia , Estresse Fisiológico , Triptofano Hidroxilase/metabolismoRESUMO
Ma huang, the dried plant stem of ephedra intermedia Schrenk et C.A., contains an ephedrine-type alkaloid and has been used for weight loss. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a 36-amino acid peptide, is concentrated in the hypothalamus and stimulates feeding desire. In this study, the effect of ma huang on the expressions of NPY in the hypothalamus of rats was investigated using immunohistochemistry. Food-deprivation enhanced the NPY expression in the hypothalamus. ma huang suppressed the food-deprivation-induced enhancement of NPY expression. Present results suggest that ma huang curbs the food desire by suppressing the NPY expression under food-deprivation conditions.