Effect Of Willed Movement Therapy On GFAP And SYP Expression In A Rat Model Of Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion

Objective:The present study was designed to observe the effect of willed movement on the expression of GFAP and SYP in the ischemic cerebral cortex of rats with focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. Further more, we wanted to probe into the mechanism of willed movement during rehabilitation therapy.Method:Firstly, the rat models of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) were established, and the grade of the paralyzed limbs were evaluated by longa grading. Secondly, the models met the inclusion criteria were divided randomly into three groups named respectively MCAO group, environment modification (EM) group, willed movement (WM) group. Each group was further divided into three subgroup according to the intervention time of treatment factor. Thirdly, Rats in the WM group performed willed movement induced by foods and water. In each subgroup, neurological deficits were evaluated again before the rats were sacrificed. The expression of GFAP were examined by employing the immunohistochemistry assay and SYP were examined by employing immunofluorescence assay. At last, the data was analyzed by using completely random design Kruskal-Wallis H test and analysis of variance.Result:Compared to EM group and MCAO group, rats in WM group had lower longa scores at the time of15days after reperfusion(P<0.05). Meanwhile, the expression of GFAP and SYP in the ischemic cerebral cortex in WM group was higher than that in EM group and MCAO group at the time of7days and15days after reperfusion(P<0.05), and there was no statistical differences between the EM group and MCAO group at any time (P>0.05)Conclusion:The willed movement therapy could promote the improvement of the neurological deficits of rats induced by MCAO. The willed movement therapy could increase the expression of GFAP and SYP in the ischemic cerebral cortex of rats with focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. Therefore, we speculated that the recovery of the neurological deficits in rats induced by focal cerebral ischemia might be correlated with the rised expression of GFAP and SYP.