Sadeghi Saleh, Soltani Zahra, Rajizadeh Mohammad Amin, Jafari Elham, Khaksari Mohammad, Shamsi-Meymandi Manzumeh, Khoramipour Kayvan
Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Institute of Basic and Clinical Physiology Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Afzalipour Medical Faculty, Kerman university of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Physiol Behav. 2025 Oct 1;299:115002. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.115002. Epub 2025 Jun 16.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common complication in human societies. In previous studies, the effects of exercise and sex hormones alone have been shown to prevent the progression of cerebral edema, oxidative stress, and inflammation after traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study investigated the effects of combined progesterone and exercise after TBI in male rats.
In this study, 84 rats were divided into 14 groups (7 groups for behavioral tests and 7 groups for evaluating brain water content and molecular and histological parameters, each group containing 6 rats). The study is grouped as follows: 1) Sham, 2) TBI, 3) Vehicle (Veh) (sesame oil, 1 ml/kg intramuscularly), 4) Progesterone (P) (1.7 mg/kg intramuscularly), 5) Exercise (Ex), 6) Exercise with vehicle (Ex +Veh), 7) Exercise and progesterone (Ex +P). The TBI was induced via the Marmarou setup. Finally, at the end of the study, animals were subjected to behavioral tests (Morris water maze, elevated plus maze, and beam walking). Brain water content and cytokine levels were measured after the animals were sacrificed.
Our results showed that following brain damage, spatial learning, and memory, anxiety, and movement were impaired. Also, the levels of inflammatory cytokines and water content in the animals' brains increased. However, our results showed that prescription of progesterone, exercise, and their combination at all levels could improve the disorders caused.
According to our findings, it seems that exercise can be a good substitute for progesterone in the recovery of post-traumatic disorders.
创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是人类社会中的一种常见并发症。在先前的研究中，已表明单独的运动和性激素可预防创伤性脑损伤（TBI）后脑水肿、氧化应激和炎症的进展。本研究调查了创伤性脑损伤后联合使用孕酮和运动对雄性大鼠的影响。
在本研究中，84只大鼠被分为14组（7组用于行为测试，7组用于评估脑含水量以及分子和组织学参数，每组6只大鼠）。研究分组如下：1）假手术组，2）创伤性脑损伤组，3）溶剂对照组（Veh）（芝麻油，1毫升/千克肌肉注射），4）孕酮组（P）（1.7毫克/千克肌肉注射），5）运动组（Ex），6）运动与溶剂对照组（Ex + Veh），7）运动与孕酮组（Ex + P）。通过 Marmarou 装置诱导创伤性脑损伤。最后，在研究结束时，对动物进行行为测试（莫里斯水迷宫、高架十字迷宫和横梁行走）。处死动物后测量脑含水量和细胞因子水平。
我们的结果表明，脑损伤后，空间学习、记忆、焦虑和运动功能均受损。此外，动物脑中炎症细胞因子水平和含水量增加。然而，我们的结果表明，在各个水平上使用孕酮、运动及其组合均可改善所导致的功能障碍。
根据我们的研究结果，似乎运动在创伤后功能障碍的恢复中可以成为孕酮的良好替代物。
