Exercise shown to slow down Alzheimer's progress

According to a new study, patients with the early signs of Alzheimer's disease had less deterioration in the areas of the brain which control memory, if they exercised regularly.

The scientists say magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that exercise positively affected the hippocampus region of patients' brains, an area which is important for both memory and balance - in Alzheimer's, the hippocampus is one of the first parts of the brain to suffer damage.

The researchers studied the relationship between fitness and brain volume in 56 healthy adults and 60 adults with early Alzheimer's disease... all were over the age of 60.

They measured cardiovascular fitness based on treadmill tests that measured oxygen consumption and they measured brain volume using MRI scans, looking specifically at the size of key brain areas associated with memory, including the hippocampus.

Other research has shown that exercise and physical fitness can slow down age-related brain cell death in healthy older adults, and a recent preliminary study showed that exercise may help slow brain shrinkage in people with early Alzheimer's disease.

The scientists at the University of Kansas Medical Center used MRI found that patients with early Alzheimer's had a "significant relationship" between the size of key brain areas associated with memory and fitness, unlike healthy older adults.

They say those patients with better fitness ratings had less brain tissue atrophy and those with worse fitness had more brain damage.

Lead investigator Dr. Robyn A. Honea says the study suggests that maintaining cardiorespiratory fitness may positively modify Alzheimer's-related brain atrophy.

The study which was funded by the National Institute on Aging and National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke, was released this week at the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago.

Another study by Australian researchers from Western Medicine, Nedlands, Western Australia, found people with dementia who took part in a 12-month home exercise program directed by their caregivers had fewer falls and better quality of life.

The researchers say targeting this high-risk group may be a relatively cost-effective way of having a significant impact on the overall rate of falling in the elderly.