Moderate exercise can decrease physical markers of Alzheimer's: study

WASHINGTON. KAZINFORM A new study showed that regular exercise can help prevent the development of physical signs of Alzheimer's among those who are at risk of the disease.

Presentedat the ongoing annual convention of the American Psychological Association inChicago from Aug. 8 to 11, the study showed that in a late-middle-agepopulation at risk for Alzheimer's disease, physically active individuals canexperience fewer age-related alterations in biomarkers associated with thedisease, Xinhua reports.

The researchersled by Ozioma Okonkwo at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine andPublic Health examined 317 participants with a history of parents with probableAlzheimer's dementia.

They arecognitively healthy and between the ages of 40 and 65 years at the time ofenrollment, according to the study.

Allparticipants completed a questionnaire about their physical activity and wentthrough neuropsychological testing and brain scans to measure severalbiomarkers associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Theresearchers compared data from individuals younger than 60 years with olderadults. They found a decrease in cognitive abilities and an increase inbiomarkers associated with the disease in the older individuals.

However,the effects were significantly weaker in older adults who reported to haveengaged in the equivalent of at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five daysa week.

In anotherstudy, researchers studied 95 people who were given scores based on whetherthey possessed certain genes associated with Alzheimer's.

They foundthat those with higher risk scores also showed decreased biomarkers withgreater aerobic fitness.

«Thesestudies suggest that the negative effect of aging and genetic risk onAlzheimer's disease biomarkers and cognition can be lessened in physicallyactive, older adults at risk for the disease compared with their less activepeers,» said Okonkwo.