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Plasma Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) of Adult Male Wistar Rats Treated with Combination of Aerobic Exercise and Continuous Environmental Enrichment.

Introduction: BDNF is a member of neurothropin family of growth factors, found active in the cortex, basal forebrain, and hippocampus of the brain. BDNF acts on the neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system to promote neurogenesis and aid the survival of the existing neurons and synapses. As humans age, BDNF depletes causing neurodegeneration to occur and memory functions to progressively decrease. A deficiency in BDNF may lead to Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In order to prevent neurodegenerative diseases, literatures propose to increase BDNF level in the second decade by undergoing aerobic exercise and Environmental Enrichment (EE). This study aims to investigate the effect of combining EE and aerobic exercise on BDNF level. Method: This study is an in-vivo experimental research using animals as test subjects, specifically 7-month old adult male Wistar rats with weight ranging from 300-400 grams. Twenty-four rats are divided randomly into four groups, they are Control, Aerobic, EE and Combination group. The duration of the experiment is 8 weeks. Each group undergoes peripheral blood withdrawal pre- and post-experiment. Bradford test is performed to measure total protein concentration in the blood, and concentration of BDNF in plasma is measured using ELISA technique with Qayeebio (QY-E11168). The data is analyzed by one-way ANOVA and post-hoc analysis. Spatial memory function is tested using Y-maze spontaneous alternation test. The correlation between plasma BDNF level and spatial memory function is assessed using Pearson correlation test. Results: There is a statistically significant difference between the groups in week 8 (p=.001). Other statistical significances were found between Control-EE (p=.049), Control-Combination (p=.000), Aerobic Exercise-Combination (p=.001), and EE-Combination (p=.013). There is a statistical significance correlation between plasma BDNF concentration and memory test week 8 (p=.031) and the correlation is classified as moderate correlation (r=.440). Conclusion: Data analysis demonstrates statistically significant increase in Combination, EE, and Aerobic groups, from highest to lowest. Thus, combining both EE and aerobic exercise is an effective method to promote memory functions and prevent neural degeneration.
Keywords: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Aerobic Exercise, Environmental Enrichment


Latar Belakang: BDNF adalah anggota keluarga neurotrophin dari growth factors, ditemukan aktif pada korteks, basal forebrain, dan hipokampus. BDNF berkerja pada neuron sistem saraf pusat dan perifer untuk mendukung neurogenesis dan kelangsungan hidup neuron dan sinaps yang sudah ada. Seiring bertambahnya usia manusia, BDNF akan menurun lalu menyebabkan degenerasi neuron dan penurunan fungsi memori. Kekurangan BDNF dapat menyebabkan Dementia dan penyakit Alzheimer. Untuk mencegah penyakit neurodegeneratif, literatur mengajukan untuk meningkatkan kadar BDNF melalui olahraga aerobik dan Environmental Enrichment (EE) di usia dekade kedua. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengamati efek kombinasi EE dan olahraga aerobik pada kadar BDNF. Metode: Penelitian ini merupakan eksperimen in-vivo dengan binatang sebagai hewan uji, yaitu tikus wistar jantan usia tujuh bulan dengan berat 300400 gram. Dua puluh empat tikus dibagi secara acak ke empat grup, Kontrol, Aerobik, EE dan Kombinasi. Durasi eksperimen adalah 8 minggu. Setiap kelompok menjalani pengambilan darah perifer pada awal dan akhir eksperimen. Uji Bradford dilakukan untuk menghitung konsentrasi total protein dalam darah, dan konsentrasi BDNF pada plasma dihitung menggunakan teknik ELISA dengan kit Qayeebio (QY-E11168). Analisis data menggunakan one-way ANOVA dan analisis post-hoc. Fungsi memori spasial diuji dengan Y-Maze spontaneous alternation. Korelasi antara kadar BDNF plasma dengan fungsi memori spasial diukur menggunakan uji korelasi Pearson. Hasil: Kadar BDNF menunjukkan perbedaan signifikan secara statistik antar kelompok di minggu ke-8 (p=.001). Signifikansi data ditemukan antara kelompok Kontrol-EE (p=.049), KontrolKombinasi (p=.000), Aerobik-Kombinasi (p=.001), and EE-Kombinasi (p=.013). Terdapat korelasi signifikan antara kadar BDNF plasma dengan fungsi memori minggu ke-8 (p=.031), dengan tingkat korelasi antara kedua faktor bernilai sedang (r=.440). Kesimpulan: Analisis data menunjukan peningkatan BDNF yang signifikan secara statistik di kelompok Kombinasi, EE, dan Aerobik dari paling tinggi hingga ke paling rendah. Maka, kombinasi EE dan olahraga aerobik merupakan metode yang efektif untuk peningkatan fungsi memori serta pencegahan degenerasi saraf.
Kata kunci: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), olahraga aerobik, Environmental Enrichment