Aerobic training combined with improved brain function
People who are at risk of Alzheihmer disease due to their family history or genetic disposition and who have completed six months of aerobic training improved their glucose metabolism in the brain and their superior thinking skills. These were, for example, planning and mental flexibility, the so-called executive function. These improvements were associated with increased cardiorespiratory fitness. The results of this study will be published in a special edition of Brain Plasticity, which deals with practice and cognition.
Stimulate the brain through aerobic training
Currently available drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease have a limited therapeutic capacity. At a time when both the human and monetary costs of the disease are expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades, there is a critical need to provide individuals with easy-to-use strategies that reduce the likelihood of disease or its progression can be slowed down. For this reason, the researchers examined whether exercise training improves the symptoms in asymptomatic people at risk.
The study examined 23 cognitively normal, relatively young adults with a family history or a genetic risk of Alzheimer's. All patients had a rather static lifestyle. They have undergone a number of assessments, including cardiorespiratory fitness tests, measurements of daily physical activity, and imaging of glucose metabolism in the brain. The latter is a measure of neuronal health. The researchers also performed some tests of cognitive functions.
Half of the participants received information on how to maintain an active lifestyle at random, but no further intervention. The other half participated in a moderate-intensity treadmill exercise program three times a week for 26 weeks with a personal trainer.
Assess study results
Compared to the participants who maintained their normal physical activity, the persons in charge of the active training program improved their cardiorespiratory fitness. They also spent less time sedentary after the end of the training program and better results in cognitive tests of executive function.
Executive function, an aspect of cognition that is known to decrease as Alzheimer's disease progresses, involves mental processes. These enable individuals to plan, focus their attention, save instructions, and successfully complete multiple tasks. The participants' improved cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with an increased glucose metabolism in the posterior cingulate cortex. This is an area of the brain that researchers associate with Alzheimer's.
“This study shows that regular aerobic exercise can potentially improve the cognitive functions that are particularly critical to the disease. The results are particularly relevant for people who are at higher risk due to their family history. “
The study's lead author, Max Gaitán, of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, noted that an important next step would be to conduct a larger, more definitive study. If these findings are repeated, they have a huge impact on the quality of later life. They enable the individual to live more years of self-determination, active engagement for the relatives and building memories.
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