Physical activity could be the key to prevent Alzheimer’s. According to the last study of the magazine Alzheimer’s & Dementiaan increase in physical activity Between 45 and 65, it helps reduce the accumulation of beta amyloid, a protein linked to neurodegeneration associated with the disease.
The study also highlights that 13% of Alzheimer’s cases could be directly related to physical inactivity. There is no doubt that the results are conclusive: the people who increased their physical activity until the WHO recommendations – between 150 and 300 minutes of weekly moderate exercise – presented a lower accumulation of such protein.
The study has emerged from the collaboration between the Global Health Institute of Barcelona (ISGlobal), a center promoted by the “La Caixa” Foundation, and Barcelona? ETA Brain Research Center (BBRC), Research Center of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation. Has been led by Eider Arenaza-urquijo and counted With the participation of 337 people from the Alpha+cohort, in the Catalonia region. For 4 years, researchers analyzed the effects of physical activity on brain health of people with a family history of Alzheimer, using questionnaires about physical activity and neuroimaging tests.
-In the words of Arenaza-Urquijo, “it is essential that we promote a more active lifestyle among medium-sized adults, as a public health measure to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s” and added that “interventions that foster exercise could be crucial for the prevention of this disease in the future.”
Healthy habits
The data suggests that the exercise not only prevents the accumulation of toxic proteins, but also can strengthen the brain structure in the regions most affected by Alzheimer’s, such as medial temporal areas. This finding reinforces the idea that any increase in physical activity is beneficial to brain health, without the need to reach a specific exercise threshold. “The benefits of physical activity seem to be dose-dependent: to greater exercise, less accumulation of beta amyloid,” Müge ak? nc?, researcher also of the study. “Even those who did not fully comply with WHO recommendations, but performed some physical activity, showed improvements compared to sedentary,” he said.
In short, with these results, the study opens new perspectives for Alzheimer’s prevention, suggesting that a change in physical activity habits PI hate having a significant impact on reducing the risk of developing this disease neurodegenerative.
