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ew research finds that a 6-month
regimen of aerobic exercise can reverse symptoms of mild cognitive impairment
in older adults.
Just 6 months of exercise that
raises the heart rate can reverse signs of age-related cognitive impairment.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by a
mild loss of cognitive abilities, such as memory and reasoning skills.
A
person with MCI may find it hard to remember things, make decisions, or focus
on tasks.
While
the loss of cognitive abilities is not serious enough to interfere with daily
activities, MCI raises the risk of Alzheimer's disease and
other forms of dementia.
According
to the Alzheimer's Association, 15–20 percent of adults aged 65 and over in the
United States have MCI.
New
research suggests that there might be a way to reverse these age-related
cognitive problems. James A. Blumenthal, Ph.D. — of Duke University Medical
Center in Durham, NC — and colleagues examined the effects of regimented
exercise in 160 people aged 65 on average.
They published their findings in the journal Neurology.
Studying exercise, diet, and MCI
The
participants included in the research were sedentary at the beginning of the
study. They had cardiovascular risk factors and reported symptoms of MCI.
The
researchers wanted to investigate the impact of both physical activity and diet
on cognitive abilities.
The
participants followed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
The DASH diet consists of high-fiber, low-sodium foods such as fruits,
vegetables, nuts, beans, grains, and lean meat, as well as low-fat dairy.
The
researchers divided the participants into four groups:
·
One group did only aerobic exercise.
·
One group adhered to the DASH diet
(without any exercise).
·
One group both exercised and adopted
the DASH diet.
·
One group received health-related
educational phone calls.
Those
who exercised worked out three times per week in 45-minute sessions, including
warmup exercises followed by walking, jogging, or cycling.
Blumenthal
and his team assessed the reasoning and memory skills of the participants both
at baseline and 6 months later using cognitive tests, and they measured the
participants' cardiorespiratory fitness using treadmill stress tests.
Finally,
the team assessed the participants' cardiovascular health by measuring
their blood pressure, blood
sugar, and lipids.
A 9-year improvement in executive function
The
new study revealed a 5-point average increase on executive function skills
among people who exercised and dieted, compared with those who either only
exercised or only dieted.
Executive
function is the cognitive ability that enables a person to plan and organize
goal-driven actions, as well as focus and self-regulate their behavior. The
researchers found no significant improvement in memory.
"The results are encouraging in
that in just 6 months, by adding regular exercise to their lives, people who
have cognitive impairments without dementia may improve their ability to plan
and complete certain cognitive tasks."
James A.
Blumenthal, Ph.D.
The
lead researcher explains that the participants' executive function scores were,
at the beginning of the study, equivalent to those of 93-year-olds, even though
their chronological age was 28 years younger.
However, following 6 months of added exercise, the
average score corresponded with those of people who were 84 years old, which
equates to a 9-year improvement in executive function.
As
Blumenthal cautions, "More research is still needed with larger samples,
over longer periods of time to examine whether improvements to thinking
abilities continue and if those improvements may be best achieved through
multiple lifestyle approaches like exercise and diet."
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