Assessing the Potential Benefits of Exercise and Diet
Regular exercise and a healthy diet reduce the risk of vascular disease and diabetes because they help keep blood pressure, blood glucose, blood cholesterol, and weight at normal levels. Since these diseases and their underlying conditions have associations with Alzheimer's disease, could exercise and diet also help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and improve brain health and function in general?
Dr. Richard Hodes of the NIA summarized the overall state of research into exercise and cognitive function: "There is enormous interest now in what effects lifestyle interventions, such as exercise and diet, may have on the risk for Alzheimer's disease, or on brain health and function in general. There is, in fact, a good deal of evidence bearing on this. Some of it comes from observations in epidemiological studies. For example, adults who are physically active appear to be at decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The association is suggestive, although it doesn't provide, as yet, a definitive link.
At the same time, there is recent evidence in animal models suggesting that exercise and diet can modify the progression of Alzheimer's disease pathology, evidence that there may be a mechanism by which interventions can actually prevent the advance of lesions, which are a model for the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. We have observations in humans suggesting that similar lifestyle variables are associated with greater or reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. This convergence provides a real possibility that lifestyle changes in people will have a positive outcome on their risk of Alzheimer's disease. We are now at the stage of taking this convergence of suggestive evidence to more definitive clinical trials."
With the greater strength and specificity of evidence that might come from clinical trials, Dr. Hodes explained, we should be able to determine whether and what types of exercise and diet are beneficial, and at what point in life they might make the most difference. While these studies are underway, we should engage in lifestyle interventions demonstrated to be safe and effective for healthy aging and to reduce the risk of other age-related conditions. Dr. Hodes encourages exercise and a healthy diet, for example, for both their known and potential benefits.
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Next: Exercise and the Brain
Excerpted from THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT: MOMENTUM IN SCIENCE, published by Public Affairs, www.publicaffairsbooks.com.
In This Section
- Building Cognitive Reserve
- Brain Efficiency
- The Role of Education
- Brain Building
- Personality Factors and Social Networks
- Assessing the Potential Benefits of Exercise and Diet
- Exercise and the Brain
- Diet and the Brain
- Developing New Drug Treatments
- Drugs in Development
- Practical Challenges
Momentum in Science: The Supplementary Series
- Understanding and Attacking Alzheimer's 12 min
- How Far We Have Come in Alzheimer's Research 15 min
- Identifying Mild Cognitive Impairment 20 min
- The Role of Genetics in Alzheimer's 12 min
- Advances in Brain Imaging 11 min
- Looking Into the Future of Alzheimer's 6 min
- The Connection Between Insulin and Alzheimer's 21 min
- Inflammation, the Immune System, and Alzheimer's 29 min
- The Benefit of Diet and Exercise in Alzheimer's 16 min
- Cognitive Reserve: What the Religious Orders Study is Revealing about Alzheimer's 20 min
- Searching for an Alzheimer's Cure: The Story of Flurizan 30 min
- The Pulse of Drug Development 15 min
- The DeMoe Family: Early-Onset Alzheimer's Genetics 25 min
- The Nanney/Felts Family: Late-Onset Alzheimer's Genetics 20 min
- The Quest for Biomarkers 17 min
Video: Inside the Brain: Unraveling the Mystery of Alzheimer's Disease
This 4-minute captioned video shows the progression of Alzheimer's disease in the brain.
Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour
The Brain Tour explains how the brain works and how Alzheimer's affects it.
Alzheimer's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery
This book explains what AD is, describes the main areas in which researchers are working, and highlights new approaches for helping families and friends care for people with AD.
- About The Scientists
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- Rapid advances in our knowledge about AD have led to the development of promising new drugs and treatment strategies. However, before these new strategies can be used in clinical practice, they must be shown to work in people. Advances in prevention and treatment are only possible thanks to volunteers who participate in clinical trials.
- Among those touched by Alzheimer's (excluding self), nearly one-third provide support as a friend or relative, another 3% provide support as a healthcare professional, and the remaining two-thirds provide no support to the person suffering from Alzheimer's. When support is provided, it most often entails emotional support, followed by care-giving support. While small in comparison, more than one person in ten is providing financial support. Read more.