![]() There is a desperate need for any approach that could slow the rising epidemic of dementia. ![]() Exercise is unlikely to stave off the brain's decline for long, but it could delay the inevitable decline and slow the onset of dementia. Scientists are unsure what changes in the brain underpin the increases in size of the two regions, or how long the improvements last. There is not this inevitable decline that we used to think it was." "The results suggest that brain and cognitive function of the older adults remain plastic and highly malleable. But it only needs to be moderate, and not even for that long. People are misled to believe they need years of vigorous physical exercise. "You don't need highly vigorous physical activity to see these effects. "With modest amounts of exercise, we were able to increase the size of these structures that typically deteriorate and precede the cognitive complaints that often come in late adulthood," Erickson said. But the effect was greater in the walkers, Erickson said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Medical scans showed minor increases in the two brain regions in both groups. The rest spent a similar amount of time doing stretching exercises. Half were randomly assigned to walk for 30 to 45 minutes three days a week. ![]() Anecdotally, it seems to benefit these cognitive functions," he said.Įrickson recruited more than 100 adults who confessed to doing little if any exercise in their daily lives. ![]() "They feel better, they feel as if the fog has lifted. People who took part in the study scored higher on spatial memory tests, and some reported feeling more mentally alert, according to Erickson. It was better than before we started the study." "While the brain is shrinking, we actually saw not a levelling out but an increase in the size of these regions. "It may sound like a modest amount but that's actually like reversing the age clock by about one to two years," said Professor Kirk Erickson, a neuroscientist at the University of Pittsburgh. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus increased in size by only 2% or 3%, but that was enough to offset the steady shrinkage doctors expected to see over the same period. ![]()
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