Alzheimer’s Symptoms Could be Improved with Physical Exercise

Just last week we told you about how a simple saliva test could be used to predict a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease. And now this year’s Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Washington, D.C., has heard how physical exercise not only has the potential to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, but also effectively treat it as well.

Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association, said: “Based on the results we heard reported today at AAIC 2015, exercise or regular physical activity might play a role in both protecting your brain from Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and also living better with the disease if you have it.”

The randomised controlled trials sought to assess whether moderate to high-intensity activity had an effect on 200 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s symptoms.

The team from the Danish Dementia Research Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark, led by Dr. Steen Hasselbalch, found that the group of patients following the exercise programme experienced significantly fewer of the neuropsychiatric symptoms often associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

"While our results need to be verified in larger and more diverse groups, the positive effects of exercise on these symptoms that we saw in our study may prove to be an effective complement or combination with antidementia drugs," said Dr. Hasselbach. "This calls for further study of multimodal treatment strategies, including lifestyle and drug therapies."

The study further highlights the importance of undertaking physical exercise on a regular basis. The list of proven health benefits is increasing all the time and just a little physical activity now could dramatically improve your life in the future.

 



 

Photo credit: Medical News Today