Can Exercise Help Protect Patients At-Risk for Alzheimer’s?
Moderate amounts of exercise may help keep the brain active in individuals at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a recent study.
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied 100 men and women (age 65-89) who had a family history of AD.
Via genetic testing, researchers determined that about half the group carried the e4 gene variant, which substantially increases the risk of developing AD. None of the participants showed abnormal signs of memory loss.
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Based on how regularly they exercised and their e4 status, participants were divided into 4 groups: e4 who did not exercise, e4 who did exercise, no e4 but did not exercise, or no e4 but did exercise.
Brain scans were conducted at baseline and at an 18-month follow-up.
At the follow-up, individuals with the e4 gene who did not exercise had approximately 3% shrinkage of the hippocampus as compared to no shrinkage in the e4 gene group who did exercise regularly. Both groups without the e4 gene showed little change to the hippocampus.
Researchers noted that exercise seemed to protect the hippocampus of individuals at high risk for AD, perhaps by counteracting the e4 gene’s ability to alter fat metabolism within the brain.
An important take-away was how significant brain structure changes were taking place in a compressed amount of time.
The complete study is published in the May issue of Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
-Michelle Canales
Reference:
Smith JC, Nielson KA, Woodard JL, et al. Physical activity reduces hippocampal atrophy in elders at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Front Aging Neurosci. 2014 Apr [epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00061.