Scientists have discovered that a hormone known as irisinpromotes cognitive benefits of exercise. According to the study authors, it may serve as a promising endogenous agent for treating cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. In the recently published study, the research team reported that it is secreted by muscles during exercise. In addition, the hormone has the potential to become an effective therapeutic agent against brain deficits.
How Irisin Affects Cognitive Function When Exercising
The study authors were aware that maintaining cognitive function is a major challenge in an increasingly aging population. It is already known that exercise has positive effects on brain health. This is why irisin has become such a critical target for researchers to identify key mediators of these neuroprotective benefits. Using mouse models, the team showed that genetic deletion of irisin impairs cognitive function during exercise, aging, and Alzheimer's disease. This occurs in part due to changes in newborn neurons in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the compartment of the brain that stores memories and is the first to show signs of Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, scientists found that increasing levels of hormones in the bloodstream improved brain function and neuroinflammation in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.
The fact that irisin treatment was effective in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease even after the development of significant pathology encouraged the study authors. This could have implications for intervention in people with neurodegenerative diseases. For them, therapy typically only begins after the patient has developed symptoms. Another important finding of the study is that irisin protects against neuroinflammation by acting directly on glial cells in the brain. It's hard to imagine anything better for brain health than daily exercise. The new results shed new light on the mechanism involved. Protection against neuroinflammation is perhaps the biggest killer of brain neurons as people age. However, Irisin does not specifically target amyloid plaques, but rather neuroinflammation directly. Hence the authorsthis studyoptimistic that such a therapy could go beyond Alzheimer's.
