'People at high risk for Alzheimers disease may be able to slow down the atrophy of their brains through regular aerobic exercise.'
last month in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, say theirs is the first trial of its kind to directly look at the impact of exercise on the brains and memory function of people at high risk of Alzheimer’s.
To be frank, the findings aren’t a home run. While both groups did report slightly better memory function a year later, those who worked out vigorously weren’t significantly better off than those who only stretched. That could mean that either kind of exercise can help people with mild cognitive decline stay healthier, but it isn’t necessarily what the authors were expecting to find.
However, when the authors looked more closely at the brains of their volunteers, they did find an intriguing pattern. Both groups on average experienced brain shrinkage and a build-up of amyloid plaque—the hardy, insoluble form of amyloid that’s thought to signify the progression of the disease .
Again, this isn’t a game changer, at least not for now. It’s a small pilot study, with the most promising results coming from an even smaller group of volunteers. And like so many potential interventions for Alzheimer’s that tested well initially, namely anti-amyloid drugs, it’s more than possible that larger trials will fail to find any major effect of exercise on people already on the path to dementia.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Can Estrogen Help Promote Brain Repair?A new study draws connections between brain repair, blood sugar, and the female sex hormone estrogen.
Read more »
How Strictly's James Cracknell overcame brain damage after devastating accidentJames stars in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing almost nine years on from a tragic accident that left him with brain damage
Read more »
Ancient climates are written in stoneStudying the thicknesses of travertine bands shows the coming and going of ice ages
Read more »
5 ways to help develop STEM skills from a young ageEveryone knows early literacy skills are important. But we should also be promoting early STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills.
Read more »
How One Runner Turned an Injury Into a Mission to Help Marathoners Crush PRs Pain-Free'I have runners with bolts and pins in their hips, cancer survivors, those who’ve had surgery. Those are my people.”
Read more »