Alzheimer’s Prevention

In addition to diet and tasks that keep the brain sharp, such as learning new skills, there is a growing body of evidence that exercise, by improving cerebral blood flow and improving executive functions overall for everybody, reduces amyloid and tau protein build up in the brain!  So what does this build up or lack thereof really mean?

There are many biological changes that take place in the brain on its way to developing Alzheimers.  These changes can be seen easily under the microscope, post mortem.  There are specifically two proteins, tau and amyloid that are at fault mostly, both of which form tangles or insoluble fragments in the brain.  These first start to effect the memory through hippocampus and entorhinal cortex.   Then it starts to effect other parts of the cortex responsible for language, reasoning, and social behavior.  As it continues, further deterioration, ultimately resulting in death.

It has been shown in numerous studies that exercise improves longevity by reducing cardiovascular events, and that regular exercise may help with depression, sleep, restless leg syndrome, and of course lack of energy, but now new evidence shows that exercise may reduce chances of Alzheimers by reducing circulating tau and amyloid plaques in the blood.  Discovery of these soluble biomarkers have allowed researchers to look at the levels of these proteins in active and non-active people with no genetic predisposition to Alzheimers as well as those who have a family history of Alzheimers and are carriers of genes that predispose them to development of Alzheimers.  Even in people with a family history of Alzheimers, regular exercise delayed the onset of symptoms by reducing the level of these proteins in the blood.  How exactly this is accomplished is not yet known and under investigation.  The body just seems to do better with movement.  Maybe the brains ability to clear itself of debris or tau and amyloid is increased with increased circulation that comes with exercise.  Maybe better circulation to the brains cells means better glial activity and better maintenance of brain.

These new studies are yet another great reason to get regular exercise.