The effect of exercise training on the circulating levels of BDNF in patients with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Brain-derived neurogenic factor (BDNF) plays an effective role in improving neurological processes, therefore it is a therapeutic target for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of exercise training on the circulating levels of BDNF in patients with MS. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched until April 2023 for exercise training studies on BDNF circulation levels in MS patients. This search was performed using the keywords: "exercise training", "BDNF" and "MS". Standardized mean difference (SMD) effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using CMA2 software. Results: 20 exercise interventions from a total of 15 studies including 603 subjects with MS were included in the meta-analysis. The results of data analysis showed that exercise training with a small and significant effect size leads to an increase in the circulating levels of BDNF in patients with MS [0.45 (CI: 0.18 to 0.72), P=0.001]. Conclusions: exercise training leads to the positive regulation of BDNF in patients with MS, which may play an important role in controlling this disease.

Keywords

• exercise training
• bdnf
• multiple sclerosis