Tweet
More news that exercise helps the brain. While the studies mentioned below do not deal specifically with MS, they do deal with issues associated with multiple sclerosis. Since brain atrophy and cognition issues are common with MS, this just reinforces the importance of working out. This appeared in the Chicago Tribune today.
Exercise vs. Alzheimer's—McClatchy Tribune newspapers
September 19, 2008
After putting 160 elderly volunteers through a battery of exercises, researchers at the University of Kansas School of Medicine say exercising and staying physically fit may slow the relentless, mind-robbing progress of Alzheimer's disease. "This offers hope for all of us," said KU neurologist Jeffrey Burns. "Exercise is cheap. Everybody can do it. If it does impact Alzheimer's disease, we should be treating people with exercise."
Implications
About 5.2 million Americans now live with Alzheimer's. By 2050, that number could swell to 11 million to 16 million. If ways can be found to postpone Alzheimer's by as little as two years, nearly 2 million cases of the disease could be avoided.
Brain shrinkage
Burns and his colleagues have found that brain shrinkage, an inevitable consequence of Alzheimer's, was less pronounced in people who had the disease and were physically fit. By doing scans that delve into the structures of the brain, the KU researchers pinpointed that shrinkage to an area called the hippocampus, which is key to processing new memories. The hippocampus is one of the first parts of the brain to atrophy as Alzheimer's develops. This finding suggests that exercise might slow the disease at its earliest stages.
Other studies
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study that showed older adults at risk of Alzheimer's did better on tests of memory and language if they regularly spent about 21/2 hours a week walking and doing other exercise. The benefits were modest, but they were apparent after six months of exercise, the Australian researchers said. Another new study in the journal Stroke found that people who started regular workouts on a treadmill, even years after a stroke, showed increased activity in the undamaged parts of their brains that controlled walking.
Why it happens
Exercise increases blood flow to the brain. That may encourage new blood vessels to form and boost the brain's blood supply. And at least in animals, exercise increases the production of proteins called growth factors that stimulate the growth of nerve cells.
The next step
Burns says he wants to expand his research to determine whether someone with Alzheimer's can delay the progression of the disease by starting to exercise.
Exercise vs. Alzheimer's—McClatchy Tribune newspapers
September 19, 2008
After putting 160 elderly volunteers through a battery of exercises, researchers at the University of Kansas School of Medicine say exercising and staying physically fit may slow the relentless, mind-robbing progress of Alzheimer's disease. "This offers hope for all of us," said KU neurologist Jeffrey Burns. "Exercise is cheap. Everybody can do it. If it does impact Alzheimer's disease, we should be treating people with exercise."
Implications
About 5.2 million Americans now live with Alzheimer's. By 2050, that number could swell to 11 million to 16 million. If ways can be found to postpone Alzheimer's by as little as two years, nearly 2 million cases of the disease could be avoided.
Brain shrinkage
Burns and his colleagues have found that brain shrinkage, an inevitable consequence of Alzheimer's, was less pronounced in people who had the disease and were physically fit. By doing scans that delve into the structures of the brain, the KU researchers pinpointed that shrinkage to an area called the hippocampus, which is key to processing new memories. The hippocampus is one of the first parts of the brain to atrophy as Alzheimer's develops. This finding suggests that exercise might slow the disease at its earliest stages.
Other studies
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study that showed older adults at risk of Alzheimer's did better on tests of memory and language if they regularly spent about 21/2 hours a week walking and doing other exercise. The benefits were modest, but they were apparent after six months of exercise, the Australian researchers said. Another new study in the journal Stroke found that people who started regular workouts on a treadmill, even years after a stroke, showed increased activity in the undamaged parts of their brains that controlled walking.
Why it happens
Exercise increases blood flow to the brain. That may encourage new blood vessels to form and boost the brain's blood supply. And at least in animals, exercise increases the production of proteins called growth factors that stimulate the growth of nerve cells.
The next step
Burns says he wants to expand his research to determine whether someone with Alzheimer's can delay the progression of the disease by starting to exercise.