To examine potentially beneficial effects of physiological ischemic training (PIT) following stroke.

Three hundred seventy-five adult male rats were subjected to 90-min transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and randomized into a PIT group and a non-PIT control group. A sham-operated group was used as negative control. After 1- and 2-weeks of PIT, brain infarct volume was measured by Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, and behavioral outcomes, presence of intact neurons, apoptosis, and cerebral edema were assessed with modified neurological severity score (mNSS), Nissl staining, TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) staining and cerebral water volume. The mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was assayed with RT-PCR and protein expression of VEGF was quantified with Western blot.

Cerebral infarction, neurological deficits and neuronal apoptosis were reduced significantly in the PIT groups, while the presence of neurons was increased in comparison with MCAO controls. Moreover, mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were enhanced after 1 and 2 weeks of PIT.

PIT may promote angiogenesis and neuroprotection during post-stroke rehabilitation and provide a novel strategy for rehabilitation of stroke patients.