One exercise may be the 'cornerstone' to slashing Alzheimer's disease risk
A specific form of exercise may be vital in preventing Alzheimer's disease. A new study has illuminated the connection between physical fitness and cognitive decline at a time when over 944,000 individuals in the UK are affected by dementia.
The research focused on the hippocampus, an area of the brain critical for memory that often shows early signs of Alzheimer's. Mice underwent numerous fitness trials to observe its impact on these markers including 'tau tangles', related to cell damage and inflammation.
Remarkably, mice that maintained a steady aerobic exercise regime during the trial showed a significant reduction of 63% in tau tangles, while the number of protective 'oligodendrocytes' rose. Another Alzheimer's indicator, amyloid plaques, also decreased by 76% among the exercising mice, which aids in re-establishing equilibrium in the brain.
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Dr Augusto Coppi, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Bristol and one of the study's senior authors, said: "Alzheimer's is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no known cure, impacting millions worldwide.
"While physical exercise is known to reduce cognitive decline, the cellular mechanisms behind its neuroprotective effects have remained elusive—until now. This research highlights the potential for aerobic exercise to serve as a cornerstone in preventive strategies for Alzheimer's."
Aerobic exercise is any activity that raises your heart rate and uses more oxygen in the body. This can include anything from swimming and running, to jogging or walking.
While the study involved only mice, scientists are optimistic that similar patterns will be observed in humans and are planning wider clinical trials to verify this. Their views are not dissimilar from those among other experts too, including ageing and health specialist Professor Claire Steves from King's College London.
During a previous ZOE Podcast, she said that a brisk 45-minute walk three times a week could significantly improve cognitive health. "So, to improve your cognitive health, you need to do more exercise than you're doing now - up to a point - unless you're an Olympic athlete," she said at the time.
"That's the key thing. If we look at really big population studies, we can see effects, even with minimal levels of exercise and it's fairly linear...So, whatever you're doing, if you go up by a third, you'll be improving yourself."
Her thoughts also come at a time when a reported 45% of dementia cases could be prevented by modifying lifestyle factors. The University of Oxford has added that fatigue, alcohol, and pollution may contribute to dementia risk, as highlighted by their analysis of 40,000 brain scans.
Professor Gwenaëlle Douaud, who led the study, said last year: "We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution − increasingly a major player in dementia − and alcohol, of all the common risk factors for dementia."