Faculty of Frontier Engineering, Institute of Science & Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-Machi, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan.
Graduate School of Frontier Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2023 Feb;123(2):361-366. doi: 10.1007/s00421-022-05078-z. Epub 2022 Oct 27.
Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is known to be effective at stimulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, but the relationship between the volume of muscle stimulated and BDNF levels is not clear. The purpose of this study was to quantify BDNF as a function of muscle volume stimulated in young adults.
Twelve young adults (male, n = 9, age = 27.3 ± 5.5 years) were enrolled in this study. Participants completed three testing conditions in randomized order: 23 min of maximum tolerated bilateral stimulation of (1) the quadriceps muscle or (2) the musculature of the entire lower limbs and (3) control testing and retesting after 23 min without an intervention. Blood samples were collected before, immediately after, 20 min after, and 40 min after the intervention when EMS was applied to the thighs or the entire lower limb conditions. Serum obtained from blood collection was used for BDNF analysis.
The delta value of BDNF for the test and retest in the control condition was - 42.1 ± 73.8 pg/mL, and there was no significant difference between the test and retest BDNF. Compared to stimulation of the quadriceps muscle, stimulation of the entire lower limbs produced significantly higher BDNF at 20 min post-treatment than those at pre-treatment or 40 min post-treatment, and BDNF was also significantly higher immediately post-treatment than those at pre-treatment. Only stimulation of the quadriceps muscle did not induce a significant change between pre- and post-treatment.
Our findings suggest that the volume of muscle stimulation is important for increased BDNF.
电肌肉刺激（EMS）已被证实能有效刺激脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）水平，但刺激的肌肉量与 BDNF 水平之间的关系尚不清楚。本研究的目的是量化年轻人中刺激的肌肉量与 BDNF 水平的关系。
本研究纳入了 12 名年轻成年人（男性，n=9，年龄=27.3±5.5 岁）。参与者以随机顺序完成了三种测试条件：（1）双侧最大耐受的股四头肌刺激或（2）整个下肢肌肉刺激或（3）无干预的对照测试和 23 分钟后重复测试，共 23 分钟。在大腿或整个下肢条件下应用 EMS 干预前后即刻、20 分钟后和 40 分钟后采集血液样本。采集的血清用于 BDNF 分析。
对照条件下测试和重复测试的 BDNF 差值为-42.1±73.8pg/mL，测试和重复测试的 BDNF 没有显著差异。与刺激股四头肌相比，刺激整个下肢在治疗后 20 分钟时的 BDNF 明显高于治疗前或 40 分钟时，且治疗后即刻的 BDNF 也明显高于治疗前。只有刺激股四头肌在治疗前后没有引起明显变化。
我们的发现表明，刺激的肌肉量对于增加 BDNF 很重要。
