The duo, both 81, were both assigned to the stretching classes. “We wouldn’t have done the exercise on our own,” said retired agriculture researcher Doug Maxwell of Verona, Wisconsin, who joined the study with his wife. Participants were supposed to exercise without formal support for an additional six months, data Baker hasn’t yet analyzed. Baker suspects that sheer volume might explain why even the simple stretching added up to an apparent benefit. Hence the social stimulation - which she credited with each participant completing over 100 hours of exercise. That’s a big ask of anyone who’s sedentary, but Baker said MCI’s effects on the brain make it even harder for people to plan and stick with the new activity. How much and what kind of exercise? In Baker’s study, seniors were supposed to get moving for 30 to 45 minutes four times a week, whether it was on a vigorous turn on the treadmill or the stretching exercises.
Meanwhile, there’s growing urgency to settle whether steps people could take today - like exercise - might offer at least some protection. His company is testing a pill that aims to rev up that metabolism, with results expected next year. One example of a new approach: Sometimes in dementia, the brain has trouble processing blood sugar and fats for the energy it needs, John Didsbury of T3D Therapeutics told the Alzheimer’s meeting.
While amyloid clearly plays a role, it’s important that drugmakers increasingly are targeting many other factors that can lead to dementia, Carrillo said, because effective treatment or prevention likely will require a combination of customized strategies. Researchers last month reported another drug that works similarly - by targeting amyloid plaques that are an Alzheimer’s hallmark - failed in a key study. Doctors are hesitant to prescribe a high-priced new drug called Aduhelm that was supposed to be the first to slow progression of Alzheimer’s - but it’s not yet clear if it really helps patients. It’s a frustrating time for dementia research. Previous research has found regular physical activity of any sort may reduce damaging inflammation and increase blood flow to the brain, said Alzheimer’s Association chief scientific officer Maria Carrillo.īut the new study is especially intriguing because the pandemic hit halfway through, leaving already vulnerable seniors socially isolated - something long known to increase people’s risk of memory problems, Carrillo said. ”Exercise needs to be part of the prevention strategies” for at-risk seniors. Those early findings are surprising, and the National Institute on Aging cautioned that tracking non-exercisers in the same study would have offered better proof.īut the results suggest “this is doable for everybody” - not just seniors healthy enough to work up a hard sweat, said Baker, who presented the data Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Biden bill to help millions escape higher health care costsīy comparison, similar MCI patients in another long-term study of brain health - but without exercise - experienced significant cognitive decline over a year.