Being physically active may protect the brain from Alzheimer disease
This article was published in the April 2012 edition of
Neurology. The author’s study
correlates the link between high levels of activity with reduced rates of
Alzheimer’s disease. 716 subjects in
this trial wore wrist monitors called actigraphies. These monitors broadly assess the “activity” levels of these
individuals. Cognitive test were
administered annually over the course of four years. During this trial 71 patients developed Alzheimer’s disease. It was concluded that the least physically
active group was twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s when compared to the
most active. In addition, the most
vigorously active group was three times less likely to develop the
disease.
Although actigraphy cannot provide the exact physical
activities subjects undertook it can provide a broad picture of overall
activity levels. For instance the
devices were unable to determine whether subjects were playing cards or
sprinting in a race. The authors
contend that this doesn’t really matter because they recorded total activity
levels. It is also stated that what is
truly important is simply living a more active lifestyle and being less
sedentary. As long as the subjects
engaged themselves in some type of activity the risk of developing Alzheimer’s
disease was decreased.
This brings up an interesting point. Is it realty the vigor of physical activity
that decreases risk? Or is it rather
some combination of increased mental stimulation and physical activity due to
active lifestyles that decreases risk?
Link to lay article
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/18/active-lifestyle-cuts-risk-alzheimers-at-any-age-study-finds/
It seems that there are several factors that likely play in to this. Studies have shown that exercise mitigates inflammation, so it makes sense that people who exercise more will be at a lower risk for an inflammatory disease. However, I would think that those individuals who exercise frequently probably take other steps to promote a healthy lifestyle such as practice better eating habits and stay mentally active. One of the major points that has been driven home throughout the semester is that inflammatory diseases do not have an easy fix. A single drug or action will not prevent the onset of these conditions, but rather lower the chance in an additive way. There's also the genetic factor, and those with a predisposition for alzheimer's disease most likely have to take more steps to prevent or delay the onset.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting lay article. Although it is pretty general, if anything it has a message that is not that misleading, and encourages people to do a good thing (get up and get some more physical activity). I would think that it would be a combination of the mental stimulation and physical exercise that would be what helps to prevent the onset of Alzheimer's. Like Corey mentioned, it is difficult to draw extensive conclusions from this study, mainly because of all of the different compounding factors that are a part of these research subject's lives. I always remember the saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it" when it comes to other aspects of physiology, and I can't help but believe that this would also apply to staving off diseases such as dementia.
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