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Abstract Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acute treadmill exercise on Hsp72 and TAC in the hippocampus of diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Forty male rats, weight 165±1 g, were assigned randomly into 4 groups: Diabetic control group, and 3 diabetic+acute training groups, including groups 1,2 and 3, the animals of which were sacrificed 30 minutes, 4 hours and 24 hours postexercise respectively. Diabetes was induced by injecting streptozotocin (STZ 0/5 mg/kg dissolved in 0.1 M citrate buffer, pH 4.5) into the abdominal cavity. Rats were subjected to treadmill exercise, (treadmill speed 10 m/min, gradually increased to 18 m/min, grade 0%, duration exercise 60 min). Data were analysed with one-way Anova and tukey post hoc, P≤0/05. Results: Acute exercise training increased the hippocampal HSP72 in all groups, but a significant increase took place only in the group 2, compared with the control group (1/82 mg/ml, P=0/043). TAC level increased significantly in group 1 (P=0.036) compared with the controls. but increase in group 2 and 3 was not significant. Conclusion: These results show that acute treadmill exercise improved HSP72 and TAC levels in the hippocampus of diabetic subjects and can have beneficial effects, and can hence be recommended as a therapeutic strategy for diabetes.