Regular physical activity postpones age of occurrence of first-ever stroke and improves long-term outcomes

Preconditioning Exercise Inhibits Neuron Ferroptosis and Ameliorates Brain Ischemia Damage by Skeletal Muscle-Derived Exosomes via Regulating miR-484/ACSL4 Axis

Aims: Although there is evidence that patients with stroke who exercise regularly before stroke have a better prognosis than those who do not exercise, the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Moreover, neuronal death plays a central role in neurological dysfunction caused by ischemic stroke. Thus, we investigated whether exercise could reduce stroke-induced neuronal death and its associated mediators in the current study. Results: Ferroptosis was the most dominant form of programmed cell death in neurons. Preconditioning exercise before stroke improved the neurological function and decreased the infarct area in rats with ischemic stroke. Preconditioning exercise attenuated stroke-induced ferroptosis by reducing lipid peroxidation (LPO) production, upregulating glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), and downregulating acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4). High-throughput sequencing and dual luciferase reporter assays revealed that exercise-induced exosomal miR-484 inhibits Acsl4 expression. Moreover, we showed that exercise-induced exosomal miR-484 is mainly derived from skeletal muscle, and the neuroprotective effect of preconditioning exercise is suppressed by inhibiting miR-484 production in skeletal muscle. Innovation: This study suggested that neuronal ferroptosis is the most dominant form of programmed cell death in a hypoxic environment. Moreover, we showed that the ferroptosis pathway is a potential therapeutic target in ischemic stroke and that preconditioning exercise could be an effective antioxidant intervention for cerebral ischemia. Conclusion: Our work revealed that preconditioning exercise before stroke exerts neuroprotective effects against brain ischemia by skeletal muscle-derived exosomal miR-484 via inhibiting ferroptosis. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 41, 769-792.

Prestroke Physical Activity Matters for Functional Limitations: A Longitudinal Case-Control Study of 12,860 Participants

OBJECTIVE

In the chronic phase after a stroke, limitations in basic activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) initially plateau before steadily increasing. The benefits of prestroke physical activity on these limitations remain unclear. To clarify this relationship, the effect of physical activity on the long-term evolution of functional limitations in a cohort of people with stroke compared to a cohort of matched adults without stroke was examined.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from 2143 people with stroke and 10,717 adults without stroke aged 50 years and older were drawn from a prospective cohort study based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004-2022; eight data collection waves). Physical activity was assessed in the prestroke wave. Functional limitations were assessed in the poststroke waves. Each person with stroke was matched with five adults without stroke who had similar propensity scores computed on the basis of key covariates, including baseline age, sex, body mass index, limitations in ADLs and IADLs, chronic conditions, and country of residence, before any of the participants from either cohort had experienced a stroke.

RESULTS

Results showed an interaction between stroke status and physical activity on ADL limitations (b = -0.076; 95% CI = -0.142 to -0.011), with the beneficial effect of physical activity being stronger in people with stroke (b = -0.345; 95% CI = -0.438 to -0.252) than in adults without stroke (b = -0.269; 95% CI = -0.269 to -0.241).

CONCLUSION

The beneficial effect of prestroke physical activity on ADL limitations after stroke is stronger than its effect in matched adults without stroke followed for a similar number of years.

IMPACT

Physical activity, an intervention within the physical therapist's scope of practice, is effective in reducing the risk of functional dependence after stroke. Moreover, prestroke levels of physical activity can inform the prognosis of functional dependence in people with stroke.

Domain-Specific Physical Activity and Stroke in Sweden

Importance

Associations of domain-specific physical activity with stroke incidence and poststroke outcomes have not been extensively studied using long-term, population-based data.

Objective

To investigate associations of leisure time, work time, transport, and household physical activity with stroke incidence and death or dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) 3 months after stroke.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The prospective, population-based Interplay Between Genetic Susceptibility and External Factors (INTERGENE) cohort study was conducted among a random sample of individuals from an urban-rural area covering western Sweden; 3614 individuals aged 24 to 77 years were examined in 2001 to 2004, and 1394 individuals were reexamined in 2014 to 2016. The median (range) follow-up was 20.0 years (56 days to 21.9 years). Data were analyzed from September through October 2023.

Exposure

Physical activity levels were self-reported for leisure time, work time, transportation, and household domains. The mean number of steps taken over a 6-day period was collected in a subgroup of participants using a sealed pedometer.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Follow-up for stroke incidence and mortality rates continued until December 31, 2022. The composite outcome of death or ADL dependency was assessed at 3 months after stroke.

Results

Among 3614 individuals (mean [SD] age, 51.4 [13.1] years; 1910 female [52.9%]); 269 individuals (7.4%) developed stroke, of whom 120 individuals (44.6%) were dead or ADL dependent at 3 months. Intermediate (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.54; 95% CI, 0.38-0.77) and high (aHR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.31-0.73) levels of leisure time physical activity were associated with a reduced incidence of stroke compared with low levels, as was an intermediate level of physical activity in transportation (aHR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.52-0.93). High levels of leisure time physical activity were also associated with a reduced risk of poststroke death or ADL dependency (adjusted odds ratio, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.16-0.71) compared with low levels. Work time and household physical activity were not associated with stroke incidence or stroke outcomes. In exploratory subgroup analyses, there were interactions between physical activity and smoking (current smoking or smoking in the past year associated with stroke risk only in participants with low or intermediate physical activity: aHR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.72-3.15) and family history of stroke (first-degree relative with a history of stroke associated with stroke risk only in participants with low or intermediate physical activity: aHR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.27-2.38).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this study, leisure time and transport-related physical activities were associated with a reduced risk of stroke. A high level of leisure time physical activity was also associated with a lower risk of death or ADL dependency 3 months after stroke.

Pre-stroke physical activity matters for functional limitations: A longitudinal case-control study of 12,860 participants

Objective

In the chronic phase after a stroke, limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADL (IADLs) initially plateau before steadily increasing. The benefits of pre-stroke physical activity on these limitations remain unclear. To clarify this relationship, we examined the effect of physical activity on the long-term evolution of functional limitations in a cohort of stroke survivors and compared it to a cohort of matched stroke-free adults.

Methods

Longitudinal data from 2,143 stroke survivors and 10,717 stroke-free adults aged 50 years and older were drawn from a prospective cohort study based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004-2022; 8 data collection waves). Physical activity was assessed in the pre-stroke wave. Functional limitations were assessed in the post-stroke waves. Each stroke survivor was matched with 5 stroke-free adults who had similar propensity scores computed on the basis of key covariates, including baseline age, sex, body mass index, limitations in ADL and IADL, chronic conditions and country of residence, before any of the participants from either cohort had experienced a stroke.

Results

Results showed an interaction between stroke status and physical activity on ADL limitations (b = -0.076; 95% CI = -0.142 to -0.011), with the effect of physical activity being stronger in stroke survivors (b = -0.345, 95% CI = -0.438 to -0.252) than in stroke-free adults (b = -0.269, 95% CI = -0.269 to -0.241).

Conclusion

The beneficial effect of pre-stroke physical activity on ADL limitations after stroke is stronger than its effect in matched stroke-free adults followed for a similar number of years.

Impact

Physical activity, an intervention within the physical therapist's scope of practice, is effective in reducing the risk of functional dependence after stroke. Moreover, pre-stroke levels of physical activity can inform the prognosis of functional dependence in stroke survivors.

Long-term consequences of COVID-19 on mental health and the impact of a physically active lifestyle: a narrative review

BACKGROUND

Coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Respiratory viruses damage not only the upper respiratory tract in humans, but also several different organs such as the brain. Some of the neurological consequences of COVID-19 reported are anosmia, headache, stroke, declined cognitive function, and impaired mental health, among others. People who had COVID-19 have a higher risk of sequelae in the central nervous system (CNS). However, it is not known which are all possible sequelae and how long will last the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on behavioral patterns and quality of life.

AIM

We intend to address the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on mental health and the relevance of physical exercise during the pandemic.

METHODS

We conducted a literature search using PubMed to find the articles that were related to these themes.

RESULTS

We found 23,489 papers initially, and then we applied the inclusion/exclusion criteria to narrow down our search to 3617 articles and selected 1380 eligible articles after a thorough reading of titles and abstracts. The findings indicated that COVID-19 impacted general mental health and led many not only hospitalized patients to develop cognitive decline, memory impairment, anxiety, sleep alterations, and depressive-like behavior. Furthermore, the fear of vaccines and their effects had negatively affected mental health and directly impacted mortality rates in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Preventive measures must be undertaken, such as the vaccination of the entire population, vaccination hesitancy discouragement by creating awareness among individuals, and people's engagement in a physically active lifestyle, since being physically active is a low-cost and effective measure to restore or inhibit the negative outcomes from COVID-19 on mental health.

Transplantation of Exercise-Induced Extracellular Vesicles as a Promising Therapeutic Approach in Ischemic Stroke

Clinical evidence affirms physical exercise is effective in preventive and rehabilitation approaches for ischemic stroke. This sustainable efficacy is independent of cardiovascular risk factors and associates substantial reprogramming in circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs). The intricate journey of pluripotent exercise-induced EVs from parental cells to the whole-body and infiltration to cerebrovascular entity offers several mechanisms to reduce stroke incidence and injury or accelerate the subsequent recovery. This review delineates the potential roles of EVs as prospective effectors of exercise. The candidate miRNA and peptide cargo of exercise-induced EVs with both atheroprotective and neuroprotective characteristics are discussed, along with their presumed targets and pathway interactions. The existing literature provides solid ground to hypothesize that the rich vesicles link exercise to stroke prevention and rehabilitation. However, there are several open questions about the exercise stressors which may optimally regulate EVs kinetic and boost brain mitochondrial adaptations. This review represents a novel perspective on achieving brain fitness against stroke through transplantation of multi-potential EVs generated by multi-parental cells, which is exceptionally reachable in an exercising body.

The benefits of physical activity in middle-aged individuals for cardiovascular disease outcomes

Regular physical activity (PA) has a positive role in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Due to a trend toward a more sedentary lifestyle, the middle-aged population (35-65 years) is at greater risk of developing CVD. It is well established that PA improves cardiorespiratory fitness and reduces the risk of cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events, including stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and blood pressure. PA can potentially decrease oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, which are the two main underlying mechanisms leading to CVD. By reducing CRP, TNF-α, INF-γ, NF-κB and increasing IL-10, IL-4, and IL-8, PA can prevent the initiation and progression of CVD in middle-aged adults, highlighting the importance of being physically active for this age group. The general recommendation for PA to prevent CVD is at least 150 min/week at a moderate level of intensity; the type of PA should be adapted to the fitness level and medical condition of the individual. However, standardized guidelines for middle-aged individuals with cardiovascular events still need to be established.

Elevated visceral adiposity index is associated with increased stroke prevalence and earlier age at first stroke onset: Based on a national cross-sectional study

Objective

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the VAI (visceral adiposity index) and stroke prevalence and age at stroke in US adults.

Methods

We examined the association between VAI and stroke prevalence and age at stroke using logistic regression, subgroup analysis, and dose-response curves using participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2007-2018.

Results

This study ultimately included 29,337 participants aged >20 years, of whom 1022 self-reported a history of stroke, and after adjusting for all confounders, each unit increase in corrected VAI was associated with a 12% increase in the prevalence of stroke (OR= 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.24) along with an earlier age at stroke 1.64 years (β= -1.64, 95% CI: -2.84, -0.45), stratified analysis showed that the prevalence of stroke was 20% higher in the female group (OR= 1.20, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.39), black group (OR= 1.22, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.48), age ≤60 years group (OR= 1.25, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.48), hypertensive group (OR=1.15, 95% CI:1.01, 1.31), and diabetic group (OR=1.23, 95% CI:1.02, 1.48) VAI increase was positively correlated with stroke prevalence increase. The dose-response curves showed a positive linear correlation between increased VAI and stroke prevalence, while a negative linear correlation was observed between increased VAI and age at stroke.

Conclusion

Although a causal relationship cannot be proven, higher VAI was positively associated with stroke prevalence and can lead to earlier stroke onset.

Prestroke physical activity and outcomes after intracerebral haemorrhage in comparison to ischaemic stroke: protocol for a matched cohort study (part of PAPSIGOT)

INTRODUCTION

Piling evidence suggests that a higher level of prestroke physical activity can decrease stroke severity, and reduce the risk of poststroke mortality. However, prior studies have only included ischaemic stroke cases, or a majority of such. We aim to investigate how premorbid physical activity influences admission stroke severity and poststroke mortality in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage, compared with ischaemic stroke. A prespecified analysis plan counteract some inherent biases in observational studies, and promotes transparency.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This is a statistical analysis protocol for a matched cohort study, including all adult patients with intracerebral haemorrhage, and matched ischaemic stroke controls, treated at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden between 1 November 2014 and 30 June 2019. All patients have been identified in the Väststroke register, and the data file has been sent for merging with national registries. The follow-up of time for survival will be approximately 2-7 years. The sample size calculation indicates that a minimum of 628 patients with intracerebral haemorrhage is needed for power of 80% at an alpha level of 0.01. Multiple imputation by chained equations will be used to handle missing data. The entire cohort of patients with intracerebral haemorrhage will be matched with consecutive ischaemic stroke controls (1:3 ratio) using nearest neighbour propensity score matching. The association between prestroke physical activity and admission stroke severity will be evaluated using multivariable ordinal regression models, and risk for all-cause mortality will be analysed using multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models. Potential confounders include age, ethnicity, income, educational level, comorbidity, medical treatments, alcohol-related disorders, drug abuse and smoking.

ETHICS

Data collection for the Physical Activity Pre-Stroke In GOThenburg project was approved by the Regional Ethical Board on 4 May 2016. An additional application was approved by the National Ethical Review Authority on 7 July 2021.

The Association between Substance Use Disorders and Long-Term Outcome of Stroke: Results from a Population-Based Study of Stroke among 450,229 Urban Citizens

INTRODUCTION

Little is known regarding long-term stroke outcomes in patients with substance use disorder (SUD). Based on anecdotal data, some individuals use illicit drugs, particularly opioids, in an attempt to reduce stroke mortality, disability, or recurrence. This study is aimed to assess the effect of SUD on stroke outcomes.

METHODS

Patients were recruited from the Mashhad Stroke Incidence Study, a population-based study of stroke in Iran. For a period of 1 year, all patients with first-ever stroke (FES) were recruited and then followed up for the next 5 years. Disability and functional dependency were defined using modified Rankin Scale (>2) and Barthel Index (<60), respectively. We compared the cumulative rates of mortality in follow-up points using the log-rank test. We used multivariable logistic, Cox regression and competing risk models to assess adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of stroke disability, functional dependency, mortality, and recurrence among those with a history of SUD.

RESULTS

595 FES patients (mean age of 64.6 ± 14.8 years) were recruited in this study. Eighty-one (13.6%) were current substance users, including opium (n = 68), naswar (n = 5, 6.1%), hashish (n = 1), heroin (n = 1), and (n = 7) others. The frequency of vascular risk factors was similar between the SUD and non-SUD groups, except for a higher rate of cigarette smoking in the SUD group (p < 0.001). After adjusting for various sociodemographic variables, vascular risk factors, and the severity of stroke at admission, SUD increased the 3-month (aHR: 1.60, CI: 1.01-2.49), 1-year (aHR: 1.73, CI: 1.20-2.65), and 5-year (aHR: 1.72, CI: 1.23-2.35) poststroke mortality risk. We did not observe a significant change in the risk of stroke recurrence, disability, and functional dependency in those with a history of SUD.

CONCLUSION

SUD increased the hazard ratio of stroke mortality with no effect on the disability rate. The public should be advised about the potential harm of substance abuse.

Physical exercise effects on the brain during COVID-19 pandemic: links between mental and cardiovascular health

The current pandemic was caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The quarantine period during corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19) outbreak might affect the quality of life leading thousands of individuals to diminish the daily caloric expenditure and mobility, leading to a sedentary behavior and increase the number of health disorders. Exercising is used as a non-pharmacological treatment in many chronic diseases. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms of physical exercise in COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. We also point links between exercise, mental, and cardiovascular health. The infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 affects host cells binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), which is the receptor for SARS-CoV-2. If there is not enough oxygen supply the lungs and other tissues, such as the heart or brain, are affected. SARS-CoV-2 enhances ACE2 leading to inflammation and neuronal death with possible development of mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Physical exercise also enhances the ACE2 expression. Conversely, the activation of ACE2/Ang 1-7/Mas axis by physical exercise induces an antiinflammatory and antifibrotic effect. Physical exercise has beneficial effects on mental health enhancing IGF-1, PI3K, BDNF, ERK, and reducing GSK3β levels. In addition, physical exercise enhances the activity of PGC-1α/ FNDC5/Irisin pathway leading to neuronal survival and the maintenance of a good mental health. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to elevation of ACE2 levels through pathological mechanisms that lead to neurological and cardiovascular complications, while the physiological response of ACE2 to physical exercise improves cardiovascular and mental health.