Exercise
may help keep seniors moving longer despite old age brain decline
American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Science Daily
Older people who are physically active may be protecting
themselves from the effects of small areas of brain damage that can affect
their movement abilities, according to a new study published in the online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the
American Academy of Neurology.
Many older people have small areas of damage in their brains
seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as white matter hyperintensities.
Higher levels of this damage have been linked to more problems with movement,
such as difficulty walking.
But this new study found that people who were the
most physically active did not have a drop-off in their movement abilities,
even when they had high levels of brain damage.
The study involved 167 people with an average age of 80. The
participants wore movement monitors on their wrists for up to 11 days to
measure both exercise and non-exercise activity. They also took 11 tests of
their movement abilities. MRI scans were used to determine the volume of white
matter hyperintensities in the brain.
Compared to those at the 50th percent in activity level measured
using the movement monitors, those in the top 10 percent had activity equal to
walking at 2.5 mph for an additional 1.5 hours each day.
For the people in the top 10 percent, having greater amounts of
brain damage did not change their scores on the movement tests. But for those
at the 50th percent activity level, having greater amounts of brain damage was
associated with significantly lower scores on the movement tests.
For all the
participants, the average score on the movement tests was 1.04. For people at
the 50th percent activity level, scores ranged from 1.16 for those with the
lowest amount of brain damage to 0.9 for those with the highest amount of brain
damage. The detrimental effect was even stronger for those with the lowest
levels of physical activity.
The results remained the same after researchers adjusted for
other factors that could affect the relationship, such as body mass index
(BMI), depression and vascular disease.
Fleischman noted that the study does not determine whether
physical activity causes people to preserve their movement abilities; it only
shows the association.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided
by American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
D. A. Fleischman, J. Yang, K. Arfanakis, Z. Arvanitakis, S. E.
Leurgans, A. D. Turner, L. L. Barnes, D. A. Bennett, A. S. Buchman. Physical
activity, motor function, and white matter hyperintensity burden in healthy
older adults.Neurology, 2015; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001417
Cite This Page:
American Academy of Neurology (AAN). "Exercise may help
keep seniors moving longer despite old age brain decline." Science Daily,
11 March 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150311185736.htm>.
