Exercising 4 times a week INCREASES the size of your brain – protecting against Alzheimer’s
WORKING up a sweat four times a week can increase the size of a person's brain - and help ward off dementia.
Pounding a treadmill, exercise bike or cross trainer regularly for six months protects against Alzheimer's disease, experts have revealed.
It helps to delay the onset of mild cognitive impairment - a precursor to dementia.
Brain scans showed all adults with MCI who exercised regularly saw an increase in brain volume in specific, or local, areas of the brain.
But those who did aerobic exercise experienced greater gains than those who just stretched, the study by Wake Forest School of Medicine (WFSM) in Winston-Salem found.
People with MCI are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's - the most common type of dementia, affecting an estimated 850,000 people in the UK.
Associate Professor Dr Laura Baker said: "Even over a short period of time, we saw aerobic exercise lead to a remarkable change in the brain."
The study divided 35 adults with MCI into one group of 16 with an average age of 63 who did aerobic activity while the second group of 19 with an average age 67 years did the same frequency of stretching exercises.
Any type of exercise can be beneficial. If possible, aerobic activity may create potential benefits for higher cognitive functioning
Dr Jeongchul Kim
Scans were taken both before and after six months of exercise and compared using conventional and biomechanical metrics to measure the change in both brain volume and shape.
Results showed for both the aerobic and stretching groups, brain volume increased in most grey matter regions, including the temporal lobe, which supports short-term memory.
Co-investigator Dr Jeongchul Kim added: "Compared to the stretching group, the aerobic activity group had greater preservation of total brain volume, increased local grey matter volume and increased directional stretch of brain tissue."
Those in the stretching group had local contraction, or atrophy, within the white matter connecting fibres.
Dr Kim said such directional deformation, or shape change, was partially related to volume loss, but not always.
Related Stories
He added: "Directional changes in the brain without local volume changes could be a novel biomarker for neurological disease.
";It may be a more sensitive marker for the tiny changes that occur in a specific brain region before volumetric changes are detectable on MRI."
MRI scan measurements were important to the treatment of MCI and Alzheimer's which require the careful tracking of changes in the brain while patients engage in interventions including diet and exercise to slow the progression of the disease.
When the effect of exercise on cognitive performance was tested, those who did aerobic exercise showed statistically significant improvement in executive function after six months, whereas the stretching group did not improve.
Dr Kim concluded: "Any type of exercise can be beneficial.
"If possible, aerobic activity may create potential benefits for higher cognitive functioning."
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.