To protect your brain from Alzheimer’s disease, you should lift weights… A recent study conducted by researchers from the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) highlighted the role of strength training emerge, such as strength training, to prevent and delay neurodegenerative diseases.
Strength training reduces stress and thus the risk of Alzheimer’s
Presented in the journal for this study frontiers of neuroscience, the researchers conducted experiments on genetically engineered mice that showed accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, similar to what occurs in people with Alzheimer’s disease. The rodents underwent special training: they had to climb a ladder with loads attached to its tails. Which can be compared to a bodybuilding session in humans.
After four weeks, blood samples from the mice tested showed normal levels of a stress-related hormone called corticosterone in mice and cortisol in humans. An increase in the latter in response to stress is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, analysis of the brain tissue showed a decrease in the formation of amyloid beta plaques. This is considered a protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s: The protective effect would come from the anti-inflammatory effects of bodybuilding
Henrique Correia Campos, first author of the article, explained in a press release: “This confirms that physical activity can reverse the neuropathological changes that cause the clinical symptoms of the disease.”
“Resistance exercise is emerging as an effective strategy to prevent the onset of symptoms of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, which is multifactorial and may be associated with aging, or to delay its onset in Alzheimer’s disease. Familial Alzheimer’s disease. The main possible reason for this effectiveness is the anti-inflammatory effects of resistance exercise.” says Beatriz Monteiro Longo, who also worked on this study.
For this reason, researchers consider strength training to be an effective strategy to combat cognitive decline and the development of Alzheimer’s. They also state that it is a simple and inexpensive therapy for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.