Photo: UW School of Medicine and Public Health.Ĭompared to the participants maintaining their usual level of physical activity, individuals assigned to the active training program improved their cardiorespiratory fitness, spent less time sedentary after the training program ended, and performed better on cognitive tests of executive functioning. Amyloid plaques are a key indicator of Alzheimer disease. PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans of cross-sections of two human brains, with a scan showing non-elevated amyloid levels on the left, versus an elevated scan on the right. The other half participated in a moderate intensity treadmill training program with a personal trainer, three times per week for 26 weeks. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to receive information about maintaining an active lifestyle but no further intervention. They underwent multiple tests, including measurements of cardiorespiratory fitness, daily physical activity, brain glucose metabolism imaging (to assess neuronal health), and cognitive function. The study investigated 23 cognitively normal, relatively young older adults with a family history or genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Okonkwo, PhD, of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at UW SMPH. “This study is a significant step toward developing an exercise prescription that protects the brain against Alzheimer’s disease, even among people who were previously sedentary,” said lead investigator Ozioma C. The study shows that six months of aerobic exercise training not only improved study participants’ cardiorespiratory fitness, but also improved their brain glucose metabolism and executive functioning, important markers for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study was recently published in a special issue of Brain Plasticity devoted to exercise and cognition. Regular aerobic exercise may decrease the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease, or slow its progression, in adults who are at a higher risk, according to a December 2019 study from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UW SMPH).
0 kommentar(er)
