Running Towards a Healthier Brain: Aerobic Exercise May Combat Alzheimer's

The new research explores aerobic exercise as a key element in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Regular aerobic exercise can significantly reduce disease markers linked to Alzheimer’s. These findings offer renewed hope in combating this devastating condition. ()

Published in the journal Brain Research, the study highlights how physical activity not only protects healthy brain cells but also restores balance in the aging brain.

Alzheimers Disease
Alzheimer''s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.

‘Move your body, protect your brain! Research points to the potential of regular #aerobicexercise in combating #Alzheimer's. #brainhealth’

Exercise and Alzheimer's: A Deep Dive into Hippocampal Pathology

The research focused on the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory and learning, and measured the impact of aerobic exercise on key Alzheimer's markers: amyloid plaques, tau tangles, and iron accumulation in myelin-producing cells known as oligodendrocytes. These markers are central to Alzheimer’s pathology.

Findings revealed that rodents who completed a structured aerobic exercise programme experienced:

Significant reductions in tau tangles (around 63% with exercise), amyloid plaques (about 76% in the exercise group), and iron accumulation (reduced by about 58% in the brains of exercising rodents).

Benefits of Aerobic Exercises
Aerobics is a physical exercise that includes activities like dance, cycling, running, stretching and many more. Aerobic exercise can benefit your health in many ways.

Enhanced brain cell health, including increased numbers of protective oligodendrocytes.

Reduced brain inflammation in the exercise group (between 55% and 68% depending on the inflammatory biomarker considered), and cell death.

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Alzheimer's disease is a complex brain disorder that triggers the most common form of dementia. The slide show will show how patients need support and care as dementia progresses.

Improved communication between brain cells, restoring critical balance in the brain’s function as it ages.

Dr. Augusto Coppi, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Bristol and one of the study’s senior authors, explained: “Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no known cure, impacting millions worldwide. While physical exercise is known to reduce cognitive decline, the cellular mechanisms behind its neuroprotective effects have remained elusive—until now.”

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Public health initiatives should prioritise exercise programs tailored to aging populations. The researchers are now planning human clinical trials to confirm the protective effects observed in rodent models. They will also investigate drugs targeting iron metabolism and cell death as potential therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s.

Reference:

Tau, amyloid, iron, oligodendrocytes ferroptosis, and inflammaging in the hippocampal formation of aged rats submitted to an aerobic exercise program - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006899324006747?via%3Dihub)

Source-Eurekalert