New research hints that even a simple exercise routine just might help older Americans with mild memory problems.
Doctors have long advised physical activity to help keep a healthy brain fit. But the government-funded study marks the longest test of whether exercise makes any difference once memory starts to slide — research performed amid a pandemic that added isolation to the list of risks to participants’ brain health.
After a year, cognitive testing showed overall neither group had worsened, said lead researcher Laura Baker, a neuroscientist at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Nor did brain scans show the shrinkage that accompanies worsening memory problems, she said. But the results suggest “this is doable for everybody” -- not just seniors healthy enough to work up a hard sweat, said Baker, who presented the data Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. “Exercise needs to be part of the prevention strategies” for at-risk seniors.
that was supposed to be the first to slow progression of Alzheimer’s -- but it’s not yet clear if it really helps patients. Researchers last month reported another drug that works similarly -- by targeting amyloid plaques that are an Alzheimer’s hallmark -- failed in a key study. Meanwhile, there’s growing urgency to settle whether steps people could take today -- like exercise -- might offer at least some protection.
“We wouldn’t have done the exercise on our own,” said retired agriculture researcher Doug Maxwell of Verona, Wisconsin, who joined the study with his wife.
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