Abstract: Objective To study the regularity of cerebral edema in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats and the influence of rehabilitation training on edema. Methods 120 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to normal control group (n=24), no-intervention group (n=24), resting plus natural feeding group (n=24), resting plus natural feeding and special nutrition group (n=24), and training group (n=24). Bederson score was used to evaluate the neurological function, and the dry-wet weight way was used to measure brain water content on the 1st day, 3rd day, 5th day, and 7th day. Results There was no significant difference in the other 4 groups except the normal group on the 1st day, 3rd day, and 5th day (P>0.05). However, neurological function in the training group was better than that in the other 3 groups except the normal control group on the 7th day (P<0.01). Except the normal control group, the brain water content decreased most rapidly in the training group and slowest in the resting groups after the 3rd day. Conclusion Rehabilitation training could accelerate the recovery of neurological function and release cerebral edema in rats with focal cerebral ischemia.

Key words: cerebral infarction, cerebral edema, rehabilitation, rats