Exercise Protects Against Alzheimer’s
Staying active can be good for the body, but the latest research shows it might benefit the mind as well. In a study of individuals who carried a high risk gene for Alzheimer’s disease, those who exercised showed greater brain activity in memory-related regions than those who were sedentary, and that additional burst of industry may help to protect them against cognitive decline. The findings provide stronger support for the idea that lifestyle behaviors may be effective in warding off the disease, at least for those at highest risk, while the evidence remains unclear for whether a similar protective effect exists for individuals at lower risk for the neurological condition.
Researchers led by Stephen Rao, director of the Schey Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging at the Cleveland Clinic report in the journal NeuroImage that physical activity helps the brain of at-risk individuals to build up a neural reserve of hyper-function that may hold off dementia and neurological decline. People who inherit a certain version of the ApoE gene, which regulates triglyceride metabolism, are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s—as much as a quarter of early onset cases might be due to this genetic variation. But previous studies had found that even among those with the riskier version of the gene, exercise could slow the first appearance of cognitive decline. Rao wanted to know how—was it the endorphins and other feel-good byproducts of exertion that were providing a temporary boost in intellectual operations of the brain, or was exercise providing some more fundamental benefit specific to neurons in memory-related areas?
SOURCE: http://wellness.blogs.time.com/2010/09/07/exercise-protects-against-alzheimers/
