Exercise may delay brain decline

Exercising for 30 minutes four times a week may delay brain deterioration in people likely to develop Alzheimer’s, scientists have shown.

University of Texas researchers found people with a buildup of amyloid beta protein in the brain, a sign that Alzheimer’s disease may be on the way, had slower degeneration in a region of the brain crucial for memory if they had exercised regularly for one year.

The findings suggest that aerobic workouts can at least slow down the effects of the disease if started in the early stages.

“What are you supposed to do if you have amyloid clumping together in the brain? Right now doctors can’t prescribe anything,” said Dr Rong Zhang, who led the clinical trial.

“If these findings can be replicated in a larger trial, then maybe one day doctors will be telling high-risk patients to start an exercise plan. In fact, there’s no harm in doing so now.”

About 850,000 people in Britain suffer from dementia, and most have Alzheimer’s disease. Despite many trials, scientists have not found a medicine to prevent, cure or delay the progression of the condition.

The team compared mental function and brain volume of 70 participants of 55 years and older who were sedentary or exercised at least 30 minutes for four to five times a week.

But brain imaging showed that people from the exercise group with amyloid build-up experienced slightly less volume reduction in their hippocampus, a memoryrelated brain region that deteriorates as dementia starts to take hold.

The research was published in the science journal the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.