The exercise program involved three to five exercise sessions a week, each with 30-40 minutes of moderate exercise such as a brisk walk. Then they were randomly assigned to either follow a moderate aerobic exercise program or a stretching program for one year. Participants underwent cognitive exams, fitness tests, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. In the study, Zhang, Cullum, and their colleagues followed 70 men and women aged 55 to 80 who had been diagnosed with MCI. "MCI and dementia are likely to be influenced by a complex interplay of many factors, and we think that, at least for some people, exercise is one of those factors." Munro Cullum, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at UTSW and co-senior author of the study. "There is still a lot we don't know about the effects of exercise on cognitive decline later in life," says C. However, scientists have not established whether there is a direct link between exercise, stiffer blood vessels, and brain blood flow. Studies have also suggested that regular aerobic exercise may help improve cognition and memory in healthy older adults. Scientists have previously shown that lower-than-usual levels of blood flow to the brain, and stiffer blood vessels leading to the brain, are associated with MCI and dementia.
In many cases, MCI progresses to dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
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"We've shown for the first time in a randomized trial in these older adults that exercise gets more blood flowing to your brain."Īs many as one-fifth of people age 65 and older have some level of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - slight changes to the brain that affect memory, decision-making, or reasoning skills.
"This is part of a growing body of evidence linking exercise with brain health," says study leader Rong Zhang, Ph.D., professor of neurology at UTSW.
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