Introduction: Inflammatory reactions are one of the main causes of brain damage following cerebral ischemia, so that they are the main components in increasing cell damage and pathological events in the brain. It has been found that exercise has a direct protective effect on the brain and improves neurological function after cerebral ischemia. Materials and methods: Rats were divided into three groups, sham group, training + ischemia group (4 weeks of training before induction of ischemia) and ischemia group (7 rats in each group). In the ischemia group, animals underwent occlusion of both common carotid arteries (CCA). In the exercise+ischemia group, animals exercised for 4 weeks before induction of ischemia. Cerebral ischemia model was established by occlusion of common carotid arteries. Evaluation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) protein expression level in hippocampus was done by ELISA method. Results: The results showed a significant increase in NF-κB protein expression in the ischemia group. In addition, exercise before ischemia significantly decreased NF-κB protein expression. Conclusion: The transcriptional activation pathway of nuclear factor-kappa-B is known as the main regulator of inflammation, which is necessary to regulate the death of nerve cells. Our study showed that exercise before ischemia has protective effects against inflammatory reactions caused by NF-kB in cerebral ischemia, which can be a promising treatment for cerebral ischemia-induced injuries.
