Improving fitness may counteract brain atrophy in older adults, including those with MCI

  • A small study involving physically inactive older adults found that a three-month exercise program reversed some brain atrophy.

A study involving 30 previously physically inactive older adults (aged 61-88) found that a three-month exercise program reversed some brain atrophy.

Participants included 14 with MCI. The exercise program included moderate intensity walking on a treadmill four times a week over a twelve-week period. On average, cardiorespiratory fitness improved by about 8% as a result of the training in both the healthy and MCI participants. Fitness was assessed using peak oxygen capacity rates.

Those who showed the greatest improvements in fitness had the most growth in cortical thickness. Those with MCI showed greater improvements compared to healthy group in the left insula and superior temporal gyrus, two brain regions that have been shown to exhibit accelerated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

Reference: 

Reiter, K., Nielson, K. A., Smith, T. J., Weiss, L. R., Alfini, A. J., & Smith, J. C. (2015). Improved Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated with Increased Cortical Thickness in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 21(Special Issue 10), 757–767. https://doi.org/10.1017/S135561771500079X

Related News

Here’s a different aspect to

More findings from the long-running Mayo Clinic Study of Aging reveal that using a computer plus taking moderate exercise reduces your risk of mild cognitive impairment significantly more than you would expect from simply adding together these two beneficial activities.

The study involved 4,134 people (average age 59) who worked at the French national gas and electric company, of whom most worked at the company for their entire career.

I’ve mentioned before that, for some few people, exercise doesn’t seem to have a benefit, and the benefits of exercise for fighting age-related cognitive decline may not apply to those carrying the Alzheimer’s gene.

Data from the Women's Health Study, involving 6,183 older women (65+), has found that it isn’t the amount of fat but the type of fat that is associated with cognitive decline.

Interpreting brain activity is a very tricky business. Even the most basic difference can be interpreted in two ways — i.e., what does it mean if a region is more active in one group of people compared to another?

Damage to the retina (retinopathy) doesn’t produce noticeable symptoms in the early stages, but a new study indicates it may be a symptom of more widespread damage. In the ten-year study, involving 511 older women (average age 69), 7.6% (39) were found to have retinopathy.

Older adults who sleep poorly react to stress with increased inflammation

Data from the very large and long-running Cognitive Function and Ageing Study, a U.K. study involving 13,004 older adults (65+), from which 329 brains are now available for analysis, has found that cognitive lifestyle score (CLS) had no effect on Alzheimer’s pathology.

Previous research has been equivocal about whether cognitive training helps cognitively healthy older adults.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news