RESEARCH NEWS

Importance of physical activity for those at risk of Alzheimer’s...

A new study by the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee (UWM) shows physical activity promotes changes in the brain that may protect high-risk individuals against cognitive decline, including the development of Alzheimer’s.

J. Carson Smith, an assistant professor of health sciences at UWM said: “Our study suggests that if you are at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease, the benefits of exercise to your brain function might be even greater than for those who do not have that genetic risk.

“While evidence already shows that physical activity is associated with maintenance of cognitive function across a life span, most of this research has been done with healthy people, without any consideration of their level of risk for Alzheimer’s.”

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A team of researchers compared brain activation during memory processing in four separate groups of

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10 CancerRehad_REPs17Quarter_v2.indd 1 3/8/10 09:56:53 The REPS Journal 2011;20(March):10-11

Researchers have discovered that just 40 minutes of moderate exercise in pensioners physically grows the brain and helps boost brainpower, including those already showing signs of dementia and loss of brain function. Age-related memory loss due to the shrinkage of the area of the brain known as the hippocampus, has been thought of as inevitable but studies are showing this is not always the case.

healthy 65- to 85-years-olds, which included those who carry a high-risk gene for Alzheimer’s as well as those that do not. The level of risk was defined by whether an individual carried the apolipoprotein E-epsilon4 allele. Physical activity status was defined by how much and how often the participants reported physical activity (PA). The study divided subjects into Low Risk/Low PA, Low Risk/High PA, High Risk/Low PA and High Risk/High PA.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activation of participants while they performed a mental task involving discriminating among famous people. This test was used because it engages a wide network called the semantic memory system, with activation occurring in 15 different functional regions of the brain. First Science.com 2010 online at http://bit.ly/blUZqA

...including a walk a day

Art Kramer, co-author at the University of Illinois, said: “The results of our study are particularly interesting in that they suggest that even modest amounts of exercise by sedentary older adults can lead to substantial improvements in memory and brain health. Such improvements have important implications for the health of our citizens and the expanding population of older adults worldwide.” The Telegraph online at http://bit.ly/gX5TnI

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