Brazilian researchers have identified a form of exercise that may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. They conducted a new study on mice, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, which showed that regular resistance training could help prevent or at least delay the onset of age-related neurological symptoms. It could also lead to cost-effective treatments for people at risk of the disease. Although it is unlikely that dementia patients will engage in long daily workouts, the researchers (including members from the Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil) noted that "these activities have been the focus of most scientific studies on Alzheimer's disease."
On the other hand, resistance training (strength training), which involves contracting specific muscles against external resistance, is viewed as the best option for balance training, improving postural stability, and preventing falls.
The researchers trained mice to climb a ladder 110 cm tall with an 80-degree incline and 2 cm between steps. Loads equivalent to 75%, 90%, and 100% of the mice's body weight were attached to their tails to replicate the types of resistance training humans perform in gyms.
After four weeks of training in this manner, blood samples were taken from the mice to measure plasma levels of corticosterone (the equivalent in mice to the stress hormone cortisol in humans). The researchers found that hormone levels were normal in the exercising mice. An analysis of brain tissue also showed a decrease in the formation of beta-amyloid plaques.
Co-researcher Henrique Curia Campos stated, "This confirms that physical activity can reverse the pathological neurochanges that cause the clinical symptoms of the disease."
