• Regular Exercise is a Known modifiable risk factor formentia.
  • A New Study Suggests That Weight Training May Help Protect the Brains of Older Adults From Dementia.
  • The Benefits of Weight Training Were Also observed in Those Already Showing Signs of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

As of 2021, Researchers Estimate That About 57 Million People GLOBALY WER LIVING WITH DEMINIA – A NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION THAT IMPACTS A PERSON’S MEMORY AND THINKING SKILLS.

Past Studies Show there are a number of modifiable Lifestyle Factors That May Help reduces Person’s Risk of Developing Dementia, Such as regular Exercise Both Earlier in Life and at an Older Age.

“Dementia Affects Millions of People Worldwide and has a Major Impact not only on individuals, but also on families and healthcare systems,” Isadora Ribeiro, phd, to São Paulo Research Foundation. State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) IN BRAZIL TOLD Medical News Today.

“Since there is still no cure (For Dementia), Finding Ways to Delay or Prevent Is onset-Specially Through Accessible, Non-Pharmacological Strategies-Is Essential to Improve Quality of Life in Aging.”
– Isadora Ribeiro, PHD

Ribeiro Is The First Author of A New Study Recently Published in the Journal GEROSCIENCE Reports that weight Training May Help Protect the Brains of Older Adults From Dementia, Including Those Already Showing Signs of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

WHY FOCUS ON WEIGHT TRAINING?

For This Study, Recruited 44 Adults Ages 55 or Older With A Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Study participants were divided into two Groups. The Weight Training Group Participated in A Resistance Exercise Program with moderate to high intensity sessions twice a week, with progressive loads, Meaning Weight or Sets Were Increased as participants’ Muscles Strengthened. The Control Group Did Not Exercise for the Duration of the Study.

“We Chose To Study Resistance Training Because ITS PRIMARY GOAL IS TO INCREASE MUSCLE STRENGTH, WHICH IS SPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN OLDER ADULS,” Ribeiro Explained.

“Research has shown that greelter muscle strength is associated with a Lower Risk of Dementia and Better Cognitive Function. Therefore, research the impact of resistance training on the brain anatomy of Older Adults at risk for dementia is a promising and relief and relief MNT.

Weight Training Helps Protect Certain Areas of the Brain

At the Study’s Conclusion, Ribeiro and Her Team Found That After Six Months, Participants in the Weight Training Group Showed Improvement in VERBAL EPISODIC MEMORY and The Strength of Neurons and Areas of the Brain Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease.

Conversley, The Control Group’s Participants Showed Signs of Worsening Brain Parameters.

“This is an interesting finding scholause it suggests that weight training may not only Help to increase cognition, but also prevent the development of atrophy in regions related to Alzheimer’s Disease – Potentially Delaying Progreland or Even Preventing The onsest of Dementia,” Ribeiro Details.

How Exercise Changes The Brain

“The Fact that we observed Changes in White Matter Integrity Indicates That Resistance Training May Directly Affect The Anatomical Structure of Neurons, which is Essential for Efficient Communication Between Brain Regions, Supporting Memory, Attention, and Overall Cognitive Function.”
– Isadora Ribeiro, PHD

Reversing mild cognitive unpaid

Scientists Also Discovered That Five Participants in the Weight Training Group No Longer Had A Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment When they react the end of the study.

“This suggests that weight training may alter the clinical trageectory of individuals with mile cognitive unpaid, shifting them from an increased risk of dementia to preserved cognition by the end of the study,” Ribeiro Said.

“Even in a Small Sample, The Fact that severe participants showed improvisitive Health after the intervention is a hopeful indication of the potential protection protests of This Type of Exercise,” She Said.

“Weight Training Can reduces inflammation, improvise insulin sensitly, and increases Levels of Neurotrophic Factors Like BDNF (Brain-Dernedd Neurotrophic Factor), which Support the Growth and Survival of Neurons. It is also Maintaining Brain Function. Irisinto hormone Associated with Neuroprotection and Improved Brain Plasticity. ”
– Isadora Ribeiro, PHD

“We Plan to Explore The Molecular Mechanisms Behind Tohese Effects, Including Biomarkers Related to neuroplasticity, inflammation, and neurodegeneration, ”Ribeiro Added.

Strength Training Offers Even More Benefits to Older Adults

MNT Had the Opportunity To Speak with Gary Small, MD, Chair of Psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey and Author of Numbers Books on Cognitive Health and Aging, Including The New York Times Best Seller The Memory Bibleabout This Study.

“BeSe Findings Are Consistrent With Previous Research In Animals and Humans Showing that strength Training Improvitive Cognitive Abilities,” Small Commented. “Most of the Previous Studies Demonstrating The Brain Health Benefits of Physical Activity Have Focused on Aerobic Exercise, and that Body of Research Has Been Compump that Regular Physical Physical Exercise Increases The Volume of Brain Regions Controlling Memory and Thinking.”

“The present Study Demonstrates similar benefits from strength training. Moreover, it is Never Too Late To Begin A Strength Training Program – Older Adults Often Experience Tremendous Benefits. In Addition to Improved Stamina and Energy, Strerength Training Helps Older Adults In Their Everyday tasks and May diminish risks of INJURIES DU TO FALLS.
– Gary Small, MD

“Further Research Detailing The Amount, Cadence, and Form of Physical Exercise That Slows, Stabilizes, Even Reverses Age-Related Cognitive Decline Will Inform The Public On How Best To Keep Their Bodies and Brains Functioning Well Throups A Long Life,” Small Added.

Larger Studies in Different Population Still Needed

MNT Also Talled to David Cutler, MD, A Board Certified Family Medicine Physician at providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, About This Research.

CUTLER SAID HE DID NOT FIND THE STUDY’S FINDINGS SURPRISSING BACOUSE DOCTORS ALWAYS RECOMMENDS PATERS ENGAGE IN EXERCISE TO HELP PREVENT COGNITIVE DECINE.

“I had’s you are any studies spectifying at resistance training, but that wasn’t a surprise, that it was reinforcing that the Things that patients are doing in therms of resistance exercises are Most Likely Helpful,” I have continued. ”

“Anytime People Engage in Any Activity, Whether it’s Exercise, Dietary, Supplements, Or Medications, We Want To Make Sure The Benefits Exceed The Risks. And Exercise Training, Specially For Older People, Can Entail Sub Risk. SOUTH PATERS DON’T INCURITIS WHEN they’RE DOING THEM, ”HE UNDERSCORED.

“I Think We Want To See (This Study) In Larger Numbers, In Both Men and Women, in People With Other Medical Conditions, To Make Sure That We’re Not Putting People at Risk When They’re Undergoing The Types of Exercise Regimens,” Cutler Added.