People who, due to their family history or genetic predisposition, have oneRisk of Alzheimer's diseaseand completed six months of aerobic training improved their brain glucose metabolism and higher-order thinking skills. These were, for example, planning and mental flexibility, the so-called executive function. These improvements occurred in conjunction with increased cardiorespiratory fitness. The results of this study are published in a special issue of Brain Plasticity focused on exercise and cognition.
Stimulate the brain through aerobic exercise
Currently available medications forTreatment of Alzheimer's diseasehave limited therapeutic capacity. At a time when both the human and monetary costs of disease are expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades, there is a critical need to provide individuals with easily applicable strategies to reduce the likelihood of disease progression or to reduce its progression can be slowed down. For this reason, the researchers investigated whether exercise training improves symptoms in asymptomatic people at risk.
The study examined 23 cognitively normal, relatively young adults with a family history or genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease. All patients had a rather static lifestyle. They underwent a series of assessments, including cardiorespiratory fitness tests, measurements of daily physical activity and brain imaging of glucose metabolism. The latter is a measure of neuronal health. The researchers also carried out some tests of cognitive functions.
Half of the participants were randomly assigned to receive information about maintaining an active lifestyle but no other interventions. The other half participated in a moderate-intensity treadmill training program with a personal trainer three times a week for 26 weeks.
Evaluate study results
Compared to participants who maintained their usual physical activity, those assigned to active exercise programs improved their cardiorespiratory fitness. They also spent less time sedentary after the end of the training program and performed better on cognitive tests of executive function.
Executive function, an aspect of cognition known to decline with the progression of Alzheimer's disease, involves mental processes. These enable individuals to plan, focus attention, memorize instructions, and successfully complete multiple tasks. Participants' improved cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with increased glucose metabolism in the posterior cingulate cortex. This is an area of the brain that researchers have linked to Alzheimer's.
“This study shows that regularaerobic exercisescan potentially improve the cognitive functions that are particularly crucial to the disease. The results are particularly relevant for people who are at higher risk due to their family history.”
The main authorof the study, Max Gaitán of the University of Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, noted that an important next step would be to conduct a larger, more definitive study. If these findings are repeated, they will have an enormous impact on the quality of later life. They enable individuals to live more years of self-determination, to be actively involved with their relatives and to build memories.
