In a recent study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology, researchers confirm that aerobic physical activity and exercise training may delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
In older people, aerobic exercise training increases gray and white matter volume enhances blood flow and improves memory function.
The ability to measure the effects of exercise on systemic biomarkers associated with risk for AD and relating them to key metabolomic alterations may further prevention, monitoring, and treatment efforts.
The study is from Florida Atlantic University. One author is Henriette van Praag, Ph.D.
In the study, the team tested the hypotheses that three specific biomarkers, which are implicated in learning and memory, would increase in older adults following exercise training and correlate with cognition and metabolomics markers of brain health.
They analyzed blood samples of 23 late middle-aged adults, with familial and genetic risk for AD (mean age 65 years old, 50% female).
The participants were divided into two groups: usual physical activity and enhanced physical activity.
The enhanced physical activity group underwent 26 weeks of supervised treadmill training. Blood samples for both groups were taken at baseline and after 26 weeks.
The team found that a blood marker CTSB level was increased following this 26-week structured aerobic exercise training in older adults at risk for AD.
Verbal learning and memory correlated positively with change in CTSB.
This suggests that CTSB may be useful as a marker for cognitive changes relevant to hippocampal function after exercise in a population at risk for dementia.
CTSB is secreted from muscle into circulation after exercise and is linked to memory function and adult hippocampal neurogenesis.
The team says CTSB can work as an exercise biomarker for evaluating the effect of lifestyle interventions on brain function.
It can measure the effect of exercise interventions on Alzheimer’s-related outcomes quickly and at low cost could be used to inform disease progression and to develop novel therapeutic targets.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies about your sleep history may help predict Alzheimer’s later in life and findings of a new blood test for faster, cheaper and more accurate detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
For more information about Alzheimer’s and your health, please see recent studies about this stroke drug may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and results about what you should know about extra-virgin olive oil and Alzheimer’s disease.
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