A study has found that regular resistance training can prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms. In an experiment using transgenic mice, resistance training was found to decrease the formation of amyloid beta plaques and normalize levels of corticosterone, the stress hormone associated with Alzheimer’s. Researchers believe that resistance training’s anti-inflammatory effects may be a key reason for its effectiveness in fighting off Alzheimer’s disease. The study concluded that strength training could be an affordable and accessible therapy for Alzheimer’s patients.
Experiments in mice showed that four weeks of weight training was enough to reverse the behavioral and physical changes characteristic of the disease.
Regular physical activity such as B. strength training, can prevent[{” attribute=””>Alzheimer’s disease, or at least delay the appearance of symptoms, and serves as a simple and affordable therapy for Alzheimer’s patients. This is the conclusion of an article published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the University of São Paulo (USP).
Although older people and dementia patients are unlikely to be able to do long daily runs or perform other high-intensity aerobic exercises, these activities are the focus for most scientific studies on Alzheimer’s. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends resistance exercise as the best option to train balance, improve posture and prevent falls. Resistance exercise entails contraction of specific muscles against an external resistance and is considered an essential strategy to increase muscle mass, strength, and bone density, and to improve overall body composition, functional capacity, and balance. It also helps prevent or mitigate sarcopenia (muscle atrophy), making everyday tasks easier to perform.
To observe the neuroprotective effects of this practice, researchers in UNIFESP’s Departments of Physiology and Psychobiology, and the Department of Biochemistry at USP’s Institute of Chemistry (IQ-USP), conducted experiments involving transgenic mice with a mutation responsible for a buildup of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. The protein accumulates in the central nervous system, impairs synaptic connections, and damages neurons, all of which are features of Alzheimer’s disease.
During the study, which was funded by FAPESP, the mice were trained to climb a 110 cm ladder with a slope of 80° and 2 cm between rungs. Loads were attached to their tails corresponding to 75%, 90%, and 100% of their body weight. The experiment mimicked certain kinds of resistance training undertaken by humans in fitness centers.
At the end of a four-week period of training, blood samples were taken to measure plasma levels of corticosterone, the hormone in mice equivalent to cortisol in humans; rising levels in response to stress heightens the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Levels of the hormone were normal (equal to those found in the control group comprising animals without the mutation) in the exercise-trained mice, and analysis of their brain tissue showed a decrease in the formation of beta-amyloid plaques.
“This confirms that physical activity can reverse neuropathological alterations that cause clinical symptoms of the disease,” said Henrique Correia Campos, first author of the article.
“We also observed the animals’ behavior to assess their anxiety in the open field test [ which measures avoidance of the central area of a box, the most stress-inducing area ] and found that resistance training reduced hyperlocomotion in mice with the Alzheimer’s-associated phenotype to levels similar to those in control mice,” said Deidiane Elisa Ribeiro, co-first author of the article and a researcher at IQ-USP’s Neuroscience Laboratory. Restlessness, restlessness and wandering are common early symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
“Resistance training is emerging as an effective strategy to prevent the onset of symptoms associated with sporadic Alzheimer’s disease [ not directly caused by a single inherited genetic mutation ], which is multifactorial and may be associated with aging or delay its onset in familial Alzheimer’s disease. The most important possible reason for this effectiveness is the anti-inflammatory effect of resistance exercise,” said Beatriz Monteiro Longo, senior author of the article and Professor of Neurophysiology at UNIFESP.
review of the literature
The animal model study was based on a review of the literature published in frontiers of neuroscience where the same group at UNIFESP compiled clinical evidence that the benefits of resistance exercise include beneficial effects on cognitive dysfunction, memory deficits and behavioral problems in Alzheimer’s patients and concluded that it may be an affordable alternative or adjuvant therapy.
Researchers from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP) in Brazil also participated in the study.
“Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect the patient. The whole family is affected, particularly in low-income households,” said Caroline Vieira Azevedo, first author of the review article and a PhD student at UNIFESP. “Both articles provide information that can be used to inform the design of public policy. Imagine the cost savings of delaying the onset of symptoms in older patients by 10 years.”
Reference: “Neuroprotective Effects of Resistance Exercise on the APP/PS1 Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease” by Henrique Correia Campos, Deidiane Elisa Ribeiro, Debora Hashiguchi, Talita Glaser, Milena da Silva Milanis, Christiane Gimenes, Deborah Suchecki, Ricardo Mario Arida, Henning Ulrich and Beatriz Monteiro Longo, April 6, 2023, frontiers of neuroscience.
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1132825