Regular Exercise During Stroke Recovery May Protect from Severe Brain Damage  

SAN ANTONIO, TX, United States (UPI) -- University of Texas researchers say exercise may help protect people from severe brain damage after suffering a stroke.

Yuchan Ding, an associate professor of neurosurgery, found that rats compelled to exercise suffered less brain damage and made quicker recoveries after strokes than inactive rats, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The rats ran at a moderate pace on a treadmill or a running wheel for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, the newspaper said.

Ding found that the exercised rats formed more new blood vessels in the brain, which appear to reduce the damage the brain suffers from lack of oxygen during a stroke.

He also found that the exercised rats produced more of a chemical called erythropoietin factor, which is known to stimulate the growth of red blood cells, the newspaper said.