Exercise Could Protect Against the Development of Alzheimer's
https://neurosciencenews.com/exercise-alzheimers-10715/
Dementia is a broad term used to explain the decline of mental capabilities severe enough to decrease a person's daily functioning. There are many forms of dementia, including: Alzheimer's disease, Vascular dementia, and mixed dementia. This research explores irisin, which is a hormone that is released during physical activity. Researchers have found that irisin may promote neurogenesis in the hippocampus; these findings are essential because the growth and development of new neurons within the hippocampus can improve memory consolidation and formation, and improve learning processes. A group of researchers from New York, Brazil and Canada came together in order to explore the relationship between irisin and Alzheimer's patients, and what they found is that there were lower levels of the hormone in the hippocampal regions of the patients brains'. To further examine the link between exercise and the hormone, the researchers studied mice; the study showed that mice who swam everyday over a five-week period DID NOT have memory impairments despite being exposed to beta amyloid (protein found in Alzheimer's patients that clogs neurons and impairs memory functioning). Although there has not been extensive research done on humans, exercising and finding drugs that can produce the same effects of irisin can help prevent mental deterioration and can potentially help after a diagnosis of a dementia related disease.
In the Brain Rules book, Dr. John Medina discusses the importance of exercise, both mentally and physically, on the functioning of the hippocampus and how they associated with the development of certain diseases. According to the experiments presented, the risk of general dementia is cut in half with physical exercise and the risk of developing Alzheimer's is reduced by 60% with aerobic exercising (Medina, 2014, p.26). Not only does exercise help with psychological problems, but it can also improve and sustain long-term memory, reasoning, and problem-solving skills (Medina, 2014, p. 24). Mental exercising can include reading, acquiring new information, doing puzzles, and cooking. Though these seem like basic tasks, integrating new information in your brain and continuously doing tasks that keep your memory "sharp" can help strengthen the connection between the hippocampus and cortex, which would improve the formation and durability of long-term memories (Medina, 2014, p.154). It has not been proven that there is a direct 'cause and effect' relationship between exercise and the development of a neurodegenerative disease, but this is research gives an inexpensive and time efficient way to potentially lower your risk of developing Alzheimer's or dementia; why not give it a try?
Medina, J. (2014). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and school. Seattle: Pear press.
Dementia is a broad term used to explain the decline of mental capabilities severe enough to decrease a person's daily functioning. There are many forms of dementia, including: Alzheimer's disease, Vascular dementia, and mixed dementia. This research explores irisin, which is a hormone that is released during physical activity. Researchers have found that irisin may promote neurogenesis in the hippocampus; these findings are essential because the growth and development of new neurons within the hippocampus can improve memory consolidation and formation, and improve learning processes. A group of researchers from New York, Brazil and Canada came together in order to explore the relationship between irisin and Alzheimer's patients, and what they found is that there were lower levels of the hormone in the hippocampal regions of the patients brains'. To further examine the link between exercise and the hormone, the researchers studied mice; the study showed that mice who swam everyday over a five-week period DID NOT have memory impairments despite being exposed to beta amyloid (protein found in Alzheimer's patients that clogs neurons and impairs memory functioning). Although there has not been extensive research done on humans, exercising and finding drugs that can produce the same effects of irisin can help prevent mental deterioration and can potentially help after a diagnosis of a dementia related disease.
In the Brain Rules book, Dr. John Medina discusses the importance of exercise, both mentally and physically, on the functioning of the hippocampus and how they associated with the development of certain diseases. According to the experiments presented, the risk of general dementia is cut in half with physical exercise and the risk of developing Alzheimer's is reduced by 60% with aerobic exercising (Medina, 2014, p.26). Not only does exercise help with psychological problems, but it can also improve and sustain long-term memory, reasoning, and problem-solving skills (Medina, 2014, p. 24). Mental exercising can include reading, acquiring new information, doing puzzles, and cooking. Though these seem like basic tasks, integrating new information in your brain and continuously doing tasks that keep your memory "sharp" can help strengthen the connection between the hippocampus and cortex, which would improve the formation and durability of long-term memories (Medina, 2014, p.154). It has not been proven that there is a direct 'cause and effect' relationship between exercise and the development of a neurodegenerative disease, but this is research gives an inexpensive and time efficient way to potentially lower your risk of developing Alzheimer's or dementia; why not give it a try?
Medina, J. (2014). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and school. Seattle: Pear press.
Exercise has shown to be very important in protecting against Alzheimer's disease and in the Brain Rules book, Medina explains how exercise can help various diseases. Recently I have read multiple articles about the relationship between Alzheimer's and exercise, and different types of exercise, how much we exercise, and how long we exercise can also influence brain aging. For example, there was a study where there we two groups of 26 adults aged 63-80 and they were assigned to participate in a 90-minute dancing lesson each week for 18 months, while the other group participated in 90 minutes of strength-endurance training each week. At the end of the 18 months, each participant took an MRI test and a Sensory Organization Test which evaluated their balance before and after the 18 month period. The researches found that both groups demonstrated an increase in hippocampal volume, but dancers showed the greatest increase (Honor Whiteman, August 2017). Because the dancing group was physically and mentally exercising by learning new steps, formations, and rhythms, this could have lead to the greater increase in hippocampal volume. Finding exercise that keeps you physically and mentally active can have a incredible benefits on your whole body, so it is important to keep finding activities that strengthen your mind and body.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319181.php
DeleteThe link between Alzheimer's Disease and exercise has always been an intriguing point of interest to me. There is a significant amount of merit to it although it has not been proven to have a direct 'cause and effect' relationship. It makes sense that more exercise would stimulate the brain more often would would lead to less degeneration happening. However, in my Genetics course we explored the genetics component to Alzheimer's Disease and many scientists believe that the root cause of Alzheimer's is actually genetic makeup. It would be interesting to explore which is more impactful in the development of Alzheimer's disease or whether they are both contributors at an equal amount. According to this article, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exercise-counteracts-genetic-risk-for-alzheimer-s/ exercise could actually counteract the impact of the APOE e4 gene that is directly linked to the development of Alzheimer's. For example, two studies by a team in Finland and Sweden found that exercising at least twice a week in midlife lowers one's chance of getting dementia more than 20 years later, and this protective effect is stronger in people with the APOE e4 gene. More research needs to be done on this link but I believe it is a hypothesis that has merit and could help future generations. If scientists conclude that more exercise drastically decreases the development of this disease, we could see a decline in the amount of people developing the disease in future years.
ReplyDeleteThe suggested finds in this article are in line with our current understanding of the brain. As we learned at the beginning of the semester during the lecture on communication and the nervous system, neurons transmit information to muscles, organs, and the brain. These transitions conducted through action potentials constantly stimulate the body’s senses and operating systems. With this in mind, exercise is a way to increase the firing of actions potentials which strengths the communication networks in our body. As human beings age, we become less mobile which could hypothetically lead to a decrease in action potentials and less circulatory communication throughout the body. This decrease in mobility could be a possible provocateur for dementia and the decline in cognition. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease are very complex, yet those who witness its effects will certainly agree that anything that is understood to help combat it or prevent it should take it seriously.
ReplyDeleteIn the book we read in class, "Brain Rules", Medina explains that humans were built to walk for 12 miles a day. We do not nearly utilize our body's physical potentials due to this static society we live in where people are stuck sitting behind a desk for eight hours a day, thus leading to diseases such as alzheimer's. Medina explains that the profound benefits exercise has on mental and physical health is the solution to so many problems we run into. He states that a 20 minute walk everyday will cut your provability of having a stroke (a top cause of mental disability in the elderly) in half. Not only does exercise release endorphins and serotonin which improves your mood, but it also boost blood flow, which leads to better cognitive health. In this article, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/athletes-thinking-skills-better-than-university-students_n_2592360 researchers have found that elite athletes have better visual perceptual and cognitive abilities.
ReplyDeleteIn my TSEM class called The Brain and Exercise, we discussed how exercise improves aging. Some of the risks of old age include neurodegenerative diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. As people age, changes such as the loss of dendrites, decreased neurogenesis, decreased brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), and loss of neurons occur in the brain. Treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s only help with the symptoms and not the actual neurodegeneration. However, in class we learned that exercise reduces the risk of neurogenerative diseases. Exercise also increases BDNF which increases neurogenesis. According to the book "Brain Rules", BDNF is a powerful growth factor which encourages neurogenesis and keeps neurons healthy. Increasing BDNF in patients experiencing Alzheimer’s could benefit them greatly because it would stimulate the growth of neurons and protects existing ones. People suffering from neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s disease should consider exercising in order to prevent further reduction of neurons in their brains. Exercising also helps slow down the progression of these diseases.
ReplyDeleteIn lecture, we discussed the news that sleeping can help aid in cleaning out Alzheimer causing plaques. Beta-amyloid plaques clump up on the brain and are more common in sleep-deprived individuals. Sleep can aid in washing away the plaques and reduce the possibility of developing Alzheimers. However, the studies are still preliminary and how much sleep one actually needs is still yet to be known. Combining your findings with this, can help in a plan that involves exercise and sleep to combat against risk of Alzheimer's.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sciencenews.org/article/sleep-brain-alzheimers-plaques-protein
This article was very informative as we had read in the "Brain Rules" book about whether or not exercising could treat dementia or depression. Dementia is the cousin of Alzheimer's disease. The Brain Rules book clearly states that if one were to participate in daily physical activities, the risk factor for developing dementia is cut in half; meaning there is now only a 50% chance, which is an amazing thing because one should be exercising everyday anyway, and this is a very simple task to do, that automatically cuts the risk rate in half. The researchers found that aerobic exercise is the key in reducing one's odds to 60% when it comes to getting the disease of Alzheimer's.
ReplyDelete