Alzheimer's: Memory Workout

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Exercise may fend off memory loss for people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Risk factors for Alzheimer’s include advancing age, having a family member diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and possessing a specific version of a gene called APOE.

Researchers led by Stephen Rao, PhD, Director of the Ralph and Luci Schey Foundation Center for Cognitive Function, asked people ages 65 to 85 — at risk and not at risk for Alzheimer’s — about their exercise habits in the previous six months. While the participants performed a simple memory task, the researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity. Those who were at high risk for Alzheimer’s and exercised regularly showed greater activity in memory-related brain regions than people who were inactive. The results were published online in August in the journal NeuroImage.

In a related study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Dr. Rao’s group showed that participants with increased brain activity at the start of the study were less likely to show decline in memory functioning when retested 18 months later.

In people at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease, increased brain activity may be a response to the brain changes that occur as much as 10 years prior to the onset of symptoms, according to Dr. Rao, who also holds the Ralph and Luci Schey Endowed Chair in Cognitive Function. It’s one way the body compensates for these brain changes and allows the person to function normally. But when compensation breaks down, Alzheimer’s symptoms emerge. “Physical activity bolsters the brain’s compensatory systems.”

With the help of a National Institutes of Health Challenge Grant, the group is running a clinical trial to study whether adding exercise or cognitive training to the routine of inactive participants with a family history of Alzheimer’s, ages 60 and older, can slow the disease.

“Ultimately, our research will determine if lifestyle changes can increase brain activity and in turn delay the onset of Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Rao says.