subject: Good News about Alzheimer's for Age 50+ Couch Potatoes. There is Still Time [print this page] Good News about Alzheimer's for Age 50+ Couch Potatoes. There is Still Time
In this upcoming second decade of the 21st century it seems that a BIG issue for the 50+ population is - keeping vs. losing brain function and memory. Whether we call it dementia, Alzheimer's , "senior moments" or "losin' it", we ALL can do something about it. Brand new research (published in 2010) is very encouraging. It seems that even if you've only just decided to get up offa dat "Lazy Boy" to walk or do any cardiovascular aerobic exercise (http://refityourself.org/fitt.html) for from 20 to 30 minutes every other day and even if you still can't quit smoking and will probably never lose those pesky 10, 20, or 30 lbs- you still can slow down, postpone, and reverse that insidious "mind melt"
1. An Australian study to Reduce Alzheimer's symptoms through exercise
Concludes (Paraphrased):Exercise (walking for two and a half hours per week for 24 weeks) doesn't just protect (the brain) to some degree from degeneration (memory), but if taken up in later life (50 years and older), it can also to some limited extent reverse current degeneration.
Associate Professor Gerard Byrne, Head of Psychiatry at the University of Queensland and Director of the Older Persons Mental Health Service at the Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital Originally Posted By Reason www.fightaging.org
2. Researchers from the Washington University in Saint Louis (WUSL) write Aerobic Exercises May Ward off Onset of Alzheimer's
The investigation revealed that walking, jogging, as well as any other forms of cardiovascular aerobic exercises( link Fitt story), are extremely beneficial for the human brain,
The link between aerobics and Alzheimer's was not investigated before this research. "This novel association, in conjunction with the animal work, suggests that it may be useful for physicians to recommend exercise engagement not only for Alzheimer's symptoms but also potentially for preventative care," explains scientist Denise Head, PhD.
Details of the study that led to the new conclusions appear in the September 2010 issue of the esteemed scientific journal Annals of Neurology.
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3. Exercise Can Slow Alzheimer's
Posted on30 August 2010.University Daily Kansan, U. Kansas via UWIRE
Researchers in the U. Kansas Alzheimer and Memory Program suggest that being physically fit could...hold back the advancement of Alzheimer's disease.
In Alzheimer's disease, the brain shrinks. Those who had higher cardio respiratory fitness ( see Understand Your Heart Rate Story www.refityourself.org/understandingheartrate.html ) showed less shrinkage on the brain scan than those who had lower cardio respiratory fitness.
"Exercise may be a treatment, or it may just slow the process," (which is not bad either, Researcher Burns said). "There is certainly a connection between lifestyle factors and the brain."
"Alzheimer's drugs just treat the symptoms of the disease", Burns said," but exercise actually affects the disease's rate of progression".
Read more here: http://www.kansan.com/news/2010/aug/29/study-shows-exercise-can-slow-alzheimers/
Copyright 2010 University Daily Kansas
4 Don't let the title deter you.
Interactive Effects of Physical Activity and APOE-4 on Semantic Memory Activation in Healthy Elders.
(Paraphrased) University of Wisconsin studied the effects of exercise on a brain chemical, a lipoprotein (apolipoproteinE-4 (APOE-4)) which is associated with memory function in the 50+ population. The more physical activity one did the more chemical was found in the brain and the better one scored on memory tests.
Department of Human Movement Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA. carson@uwm.edu
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Epub 2010 Aug 5.
PMID: 20691792 [PubMed - in process] PMCID: PMC2962671 [Available on 2012/1/1]
5 Alzheimer's research:Aerobic Exercise Can Protect Brain, Improve Mental Agility
Published: Monday, January 11, 2010, 8:14 PM Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 7:54 AM
Joe Rojas-Burke, the Oregonian
"Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System tested the effects of aerobic training in a clinical trial with 33 women and men diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, often a prelude to Alzheimer's disease.
Twenty-three of the volunteers, selected randomly, began an intense program of aerobic exercise, spending 45 to 60 minutes on a treadmill or stationary bike four days a week. The remaining 10, the study's control group, spent the same amount of time performing non-aerobic stretching and balance exercises (possibly yoga and tai chi).
After six months, the aerobic exercisers showed significant gains in mental agility, while the non-aerobic group showed continuing decline in tests of thinking speed, fluency with words and ability to multi-task. "
Aerobic exercise probably protects the brain in several ways, Baker said. It builds heart and artery resilience, which boosts blood flow to the brain. Exercise keeps energy metabolism stable, preventing and even reversing diabetes. Exercise also relieves stress, preventing damaging chain-reactions unleashed by the build-up of stress hormones.
For reasons that remain unclear, aerobic training helped women's mental agility substantially more than it helped men's. "It might be that this was the perfect dose of exercise for women but not men," said Baker, the study author.
But people who aren't exercising regularly shouldn't wait for more scientific data to get going, Baker said. "Don't worry about the intensity. You can start by walking 20 minutes a day," she said.
What more can we say? See The FITT Principle story at http://www.refityourself.org/fitt.html
