Aims: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by progressive loss of dopamine cells. It is suggested that exercise could be employed as a non-pharmacological approach for reducing the risk of PD incidence. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 4-week Mild-intensity (MIEx) and progressive exercise (PEx) protocols on rotational behavior, GFAP, DA, TH, MANF, CDNF and NGF levels in striatum of parkinsonian rats induced by 6- hydroxydopamine. Methods: 42 Wistar male rats were divided into 6 groups including, healthy and PD controls, MIEx, PEx, healthy MIEx, and healthy PEx. MIEx protocol was performed as follows: 5 days a week, 2 sessions a day of 15 min at a speed of 15 m/min. PEx protocol encompassed a training regimen of 5 days a week initiating by 20 min in the first day reaching 50 min on the fifth day and 60 min in the next 3 weeks. PD was induced after training protocol by injection of 6-OHDA into the striatum of rats. For confirming PD, apomorphine rotational test was employed. Key findings: The MIEx protocol did not have any positive impacts on the variables except for CDNF (P < 0.0001). Levels of DA (P < 0.0001) and TH (P=0.0004) increased significantly after performing PEx protocol. Moreover, PEx protocol considerably reduced rotational behavior of rats (P=0.0244). Significance: The findings of this research confirm positive effects of PEx in protecting against PD. This progressive training protocol has explicitly shown a neuroprotective effect against PD-inducing nervous toxin through increasing neurotrophins.
