Exercise improves brain function in older adults with MCI

  • A short exercise program improved cognition and brain blood flow in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

A small study has found that a 12-week exercise program significantly improved cognition in both older adults with MCI and those who were cognitively healthy, but that effect on blood flow in the brain was different in these two groups.

While the exercise increased cerebral blood flow in the frontal cortex of those in the healthy group, those with MCI experienced decreases in cerebral blood flow. It has been speculated that the brain responds to early difficulties by increasing cerebral blood flow. This suggests that exercise may have the potential to reduce this compensatory blood flow and improve cognitive efficiency in those who are in the very early stages of Alzheimer's Disease.

The exercise training program consisted of four 30-minute sessions of moderate-intensity treadmill walking per week.

Both working memory and verbal fluency were tested (using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test).

Changes in cerebral blood flow were measured in specific brain regions that are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, including the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the inferior frontal gyrus.

Among those with MCI, decreased blood flow in the left insula and anterior cingulate cortex was strongly associated with improved verbal fluency.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/uom-usf013119.php

Reference: 

Alfini, A. J. et al. 2019. Resting Cerebral Blood Flow After Exercise Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 67 (2), 671-684.

 

Related News

Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the cerebrospinal fluid has found that both symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients and asymptomatic patients at risk of A

Comparison of the EEGs of 27 healthy older adults, 27 individuals with mild Alzheimer's and 22 individuals with moderate cases of Alzheimer’s, has found statistically significant differences across the three groups, using an algorithm that dissects brain waves of varying frequencies.

Data from two longitudinal studies of older adults (a nationally representative sample of older adults, and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) has found that a brief cognitive test can distinguish memory decline associated with healthy aging from more serious memory disorders, year

Analysis of 40 spinal marrow samples, 20 of which belonged to Alzheimer’s patients, has identified six

Data from 848 adults of all ages has found that brain volume in the default mode network declined in both healthy and pathological aging, but the greatest decline occurred in Alzheimer’s patients and in those who progressed from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s disease.

New research supports the classification system for preclinical Alzheimer’s proposed two years ago. The classification system divides preclinical Alzheimer's into three stages:

Initial findings from an analysis of cerebrospinal fluid taken between 1995 and 2005 from 265 middle-aged healthy volunteers, of whom 75% had a close family m

Cognitive testing for dementia has a problem in that low scores on some tests may simply reflect a person's weakness in some cognitive areas, or the presence of a relatively benign form of mild cognitive impairment (one that is not going to progress to dementia).

A French study has predicted with 90% accuracy which patients with mild cognitive impairment would receive a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease within the following two years.

Studies linking head trauma with increased risk and earlier age of onset for Alzheimer's disease have yielded contradictory results.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.