Download This Paper
Preprints with The Lancet is a collaboration between The Lancet Group of journals and SSRN to facilitate the open sharing of preprints for early engagement, community comment, and collaboration. Preprints available here are not Lancet publications or necessarily under review with a Lancet journal. These preprints are early-stage research papers that have not been peer-reviewed. The usual SSRN checks and a Lancet-specific check for appropriateness and transparency have been applied. The findings should not be used for clinical or public health decision-making or presented without highlighting these facts. For more information, please see the FAQs.
Neuroprotection Afforded by an Enriched Mediterranean-Like Diet is Modified by Exercise in a Rat Model of Cerebral Ischemia
65 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2023
More...Abstract
Ischemic stroke is an important cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Given that current treatments do not allow a remarkable better outcome in patients after stroke, it is mandatory to seek new approaches preventing stroke and/or complementing the current treatments or ameliorating the ischemic insult. Multiple preclinical and clinical studies highlighted the potential beneficial roles of exercise and a Mediterranean diet following stroke. Here, we examined whether a Mediterranean-like diet supplemented with hydroxytyrosol with/without physical exercise enhances the good outcome of rats submitted to a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). We also assessed a potential synergistic effect with physical exercise. We found that an enriched Mediterranean-like diet decreased infarct/edema volumes, delayed acute immune response (modulates cytokines/chemokines levels) and increased acute functional recovery after ischemic injury. Strikingly, although physical exercise did improve cellular and some functional outcomes compared to control animals, it did not synergize with the Mediterranean-like diet but even impaired the positive short-term outcomes. Overall, these data provide the first preclinical evidence that an enriched Mediterranean diet mediates neuroprotection probably by the modulation of cytokines/chemokines levels downwards that eventually has an important role during the acute phase following ischemic damage.
Funding: This study was partially supported by grants from the Xunta de Galicia (TS: IN607D 2020/09 & IN607A2022/07, AC: IN606A-2021/015), Ministry of Science and Innovation (TS: RTI2018-102165-B-I00, RTC2019-007373-1, and PDC2022-134000-I00) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (MC: CM19/00235; EL-C: PI18/01096 and INT19/00075; TS: PI22/00938) and CIBERNED (CB22/05/00067). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement (No. 101066444). Furthermore, this study was also supported by grants from the INTERREG Atlantic Area (EAPA_791/2018_ NEUROATLANTIC project), INTER-REG V A España Portugal (POCTEP) (0624_2IQBIONEURO_6_E), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval: Experimental protocols were approved by the University Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela Animal Care Committee (15010/2019/004), according to the European Union (EU) rules (86/609/CEE, 2003/65/CE and 2010/63/EU) and with the ARRIVE guidelines.
Keywords: Cerebral Ischemia, EPCs, Exercise, Hydroxytyrosol, Inflammation, Mediterranean Diet, Microglia, Milliplex, Neuroprotection, tMCAO
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation