Exercise 4 times a week ‘reverses dementia’

EXERCISING four times a week could reverse the early stages of dementia, a study claims.

Sufferers with mild cognitive impairment, often the first stage of the illness, showed significant increase in brain size when they underwent a six-month exercise programme.

The participants, whose brain power and memory were declining before they started the programme, saw some of these symptoms reversed. They showed improvements in their ability to plan, multi-task and do daily activities. Blood flow to the brain increased and they showed lower levels of a protein called tau, which attacks brain cells and is thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.

The volunteers, aged 55 to 89, did 45 minutes of intensive exercise in a gym four times a week. A second group, who did gentle stretches, showed none of the improvements.

It is the first time experts have found such strong evidence that exercising can be used to treat dementia. Study leader Professor Laura Baker, of Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, is repeating the trial using 200 scientists and thousands of patients across America.

Speaking at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto, she said: ‘If you could bottle all of these effects and put it in a pill, would we be in a different place now?’

Dr James Pickett, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘This research suggests that it’s never too late to take up exercise when you can.’