Exercising Your Way to a Sharper Brain: New Study Proves Aerobic Fitness Helps Maintain Cognitive Function in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
The Impact of Physical Exercise on the Aging Cerebellum
A recent study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, sheds light on the correlation between aerobic exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cognitive performance in older individuals experiencing a slight decline in memory and thinking, known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
The Dallas-based researchers, led by assistant professor of neurology and neurotherapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Kan Ding, believe their study is the first of its kind to objectively measure aerobic capacity in older individuals with MCI to assess the relationship between white matter integrity, cognitive performance, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
Ding comments on the study's implications, "This research supports the hypothesis that improving people's fitness may improve their brain health and slow down the aging process."
Fitness Matters: The Link Between Lower Aerobic Capacity and Weaker White Matter Integrity
The researchers studied 81 participants, ages 65 on average, with 55 participants diagnosed with amnestic MCI and the remaining 26 as healthy controls. By measuring each participant's maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) during an aerobic exercise test, the team assessed their cardiorespiratory fitness.
The participants, 43 of whom were female, also underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to evaluate the integrity of the white matter in their brains. White matter houses millions of nerve fibers that enable brain cells, or neurons, to communicate effectively.
The results revealed that, although individuals with MCI and healthy controls showed no differences in global white matter fiber integrity and VO2max, individuals with lower aerobic fitness displayed weaker white matter in specific brain areas. This link remained significant even after adjusting for factors such as age, sex, and MCI status.
MCI and the Risk of Developing Dementia
MCI often precedes dementia, but not everyone with MCI will develop dementia. The factors increasing the risk of MCI, including advancing age, cardiovascular disease, and family history of dementia, are the same as those contributing to a higher risk of developing dementia.
According to studies, roughly 15-20% of individuals aged 65 and older may have MCI. Experts suggest MCI may originate from brain changes occurring in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia.
Exercise: The Key to Brain Health
The study's findings add to a growing body of evidence supporting the benefits of exercise for brain health. Exercise not only enhances cardiorespiratory fitness but also contributes to better brain health through improved cerebral blood flow, reduced inflammation, and increased neuroplasticity.
Past studies led by the team revealed that messages are passed more efficiently between brain cells in senior citizens who exercise. More recent research indicates that aerobic exercise "may be key" in preventing Alzheimer's, while another study suggests that taking 4,000 steps per day can boost brain function.
"A lot of work remains to better understand and treat dementia," says Prof. Kan Ding, "But eventually, the hope is that our studies will convince people to exercise more."
- The study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found a correlation between aerobic exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cognitive performance in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
- Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center discovered that individuals with lower aerobic fitness showed weaker white matter in specific brain areas, even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, and MCI status.
- MCI, which often precedes dementia, shares risk factors with dementia, such as advancing age, cardiovascular disease, and family history of dementia.
- Exercise has been shown to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness, improve cerebral blood flow, reduce inflammation, increase neuroplasticity, and potentially prevent Alzheimer's and boost brain function, according to various studies.
