Endurance Exercise May Be a Speed Bump That Slows Down Alzheimer's

A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found endurance exercise can retard the progression of atrophy in a brain region associated with memory among people at risk of Alzheimer's, reports Bicycling . The researchers compared cognitive function and brain volume in 70 sedentary, older adults with memory problems and mild cognitive impairment, split into two cohorts that respectively performed aerobic exercise and stretching. Each participant in the aerobics group progressively boosted the frequency and intensity of their exercise sessions over time. At 12 months, both cohorts exhibited slightly better neuropsychological scores, while their cognitive scores were about the same along with improved memory and executive function. However, those in the exercise group who had amyloid accumulation at the start of the study experienced slightly less volume reduction in their hippocampus, versus the other participants. The implication is if exercise can keep amyloid in check, then the progress toward dementia could decelerate. University of Texas, Southwestern Professor Ron Zhang suggested this effect may be related to how exercise enhances brain neurotrophic factors and blood vessel function, which could reduce amyloid's damage to brain cells.