The Effect of Resistance Training on the Weight and Motor Balance in Donepezil-treated Alzheimer's Rats

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disorder that damage brain areas for the consolidation of memory and other cognitive areas. Donepezil is a reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor widely used to cure Alzheimer’s disease. Among the side effects of this drug are nausea, muscle cramps, and a reduction in patients’ balance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an 8-week resistance exercise on the balance of rats with Alzheimer’s disease during the treatment with Donepezil. In this study, 60 adult male rats with an average weight of 230-280 g were selected and then divided into two main groups: interventional group (those with Alzheimer’s disease) and control group (those without Alzheimer’s). In this regard, the control group received saline, while interventional group was intentionally pushed to catch Alzheimer’s disease as STZ was injected into their body. The rats were divided into six subgroups as follows: 1)control-resting; 2)control-exercise; 3)Alzheimer-resting; 4)Alzheimer-exercise; 5)Alzheimer-Donepezil; and 6)Alzheimer-Donepezil-exercise. Donepezil was orally taken at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg per day. The exercise included lifting weights throughout a ladder. The rats were placed on a Rotarod. device 24 h after the last session of resistant exercises, and the time of their activity on the rotarod was recorded. one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc test was used to compare groups at a significance level of p <0.05. Based on the results, an 8-week consumption of Donepezil exerted a significant negative effect on the balance of rats with Alzheimer’s (p≤0.05), whereas an 8-week resistant exercise had a significant positive effect on the balance of rats with Alzheimer’s (p≤0.05). Resistant exercise seems to enhance the balance of rats with Alzheimer’s under the Donepezil treatment, which can be explained by the strengthening of rats’ muscles, neurogenesis, and increased number of neurotrophic factors related to survival, differentiation, and change of neuron synapses And this type of exercise can be recommended to reduce the side effects associated with decreased balance in Alzheimer's patients while taking Donepezil.