(A) The level of striatal cytochrome c was measured by Western immunoblotting using a GAPDH loading control. In sedentary chronic MPD, the striatal cytochrome c level was considerably lower than the control animals (*P<0.0001). After the chronic MPD were exercised for 18 weeks, the level of cytochrome c in the striatum of chronic MPD was partially but significantly retained (**P=0.041 when compared with the control animals, **P=0.0043 when compared with the sedentary chronic MPD). N=5–8 per group. (B) The level of striatal p53 mRNA was measured by qRT-PCR and expressed over that of GAPDH. In the sedentary chronic MPD, the striatal p53 gene expression was markedly higher than the control animals (*P<0.0001). In chronic MPD that had been exercised for 18 weeks, the striatal p53 mRNA expression was still higher when compared with the control animals (**P<0.0001), but it was significantly lower than the sedentary chronic MPD (**P<0.0001). N=6 per group. Statistical comparisons were performed with unpaired Student’s t-test.