Optimised ladder-climbing rehabilitation training for various stroke severity levels in rats

To develop an optimised rehabilitation training system for various severity strokes in rats. The method provided feedback regarding the rat's measured position to a microprocessor, which adjusted the training speed accordingly and enables the rat to continuously exercise in the middle position of the ladder. This created a cyclic control system that provided various training intensities based on timely evaluations of the ladder-climbing capabilities of each rat, thus providing a suitable rehabilitation method for subjects with various stroke severities. The modified neurological severity score, rotarod and cerebral infarction volume results for the 60- and 90-min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) treadmill groups did not differ significantly from those of the control group. Conversely, the cerebral infarction volumes of the ladder-climbing rehabilitation groups in the 30-, 60-, and 90-min MCAO were all significantly lower than those of the control group (84.03 ± 23.24 vs. 256.77 ± 85.63 (mm³), 265.19 ± 41.12 versus 377.17 ± 90.97 (mm³), and 303.80 ± 47.15 versus 452.68 ± 90.44 (mm³) respectively), thereby indicating the optimised ladder-climbing method as effective for subjects with various stroke severities. Individual differences may cause different exercise capacities for each participant. To accommodate for these exercise capacities, an optimised ladder-climbing rehabilitation training system was proposed, which provided training according to the physical abilities of each participant.