Resistance Training May Prevent or Delay Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests
And you can make the exercise low-impact! responsible for a buildup of beta-amyloid plaques, a kind of toxic protein, in the brain. This buildup damages brain cells and is a key marker of Alzheimer's disease.
The mice were trained to climb a steep-incline ladder while loads were attached to their tails corresponding to 75%, 90%, and 100% of their body weight. The experiment mimicked typical resistance training you can see humans performing in the gym. After a four-week period of training, blood samples were taken to measure levels of corticosterone, the hormone in mice equivalent to cortisol in humans; for which rising levels in response to stress heighten the risk of developing Alzheimer's.
Levels of the hormone were normal in the exercise-trained mice, meaning their levels were equal to those found in the control group consisting of mice without the genetic mutation. Analysis of their brain tissue also 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, in a