Physical exercise is known to be an essential lifestyle choice for anyone who wants to maintain their cognition. It boosts oxygen and nutrient supply to the brain as well as stimulating the release of neurochemicals, such as BDNF, (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which enhances the maintenance of existing neurons as well as stimulating the birth of new brain cells in a process called neurogenesis.

Previous studies have reported that people who exercise regularly, not necessarily with vigorous exercise but with a daily routine of 20-30 minutes of say walking, benefit the most in terms of maintaining memory and thinking skills.

Brain scan studies have shown exercise slows down brain shrinkage, which develops due to loss of neuronal connections. A U.S. study reported that walking for 6 -9 miles per week was associated with helping to maintain memory as well as reducing brain shrinkage. Other studies have shown that regular moderate exercise can reduce a person’s relative risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and that certain forms of exercise such as ballroom dancing are particularly good because they produce cross-training for the brain.

One area of the brain that is associated with learning and memory is called the hippocampus. This brain area typically shows damage early in Alzheimer’s disease. Being able to maintain the size of one’s hippocampus is important as a means of reducing relative risk of cognitive decline.

One study reported in early 2011 showed that walking for 40 minutes three times a week produces an increase in hippocampal volume, significant enough not only to show up on brain scans but translating into one to two years of better cognition by preventing hippocampal volume loss.

In the study, 120 subjects in their mid sixties either walked for 40 minutes three times a week along with a warm up and cool down session while the control group did less aerobic stretching and toning exercises, yoga and resistance training with rubber bands.

After one year follow up brain scans showed that the control group had hippocampal volume loss of 1-2% while the walking group had increased in volume by 2%. Both groups showed improvements in spatial memory but this was more marked in the walking group. The walking group also had higher levels of BDNF the neurochemical associated with enhancing neuronal support and neurogenesis.

None of us can avoid the ageing process. Hippocampal loss is a common finding with ageing. However moderate exercise appears to be able to reverse this trend that could mean a lower risk of memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease in older age.

So what would you choose? A sedentary lifestyle associated with continuing brain shrinkage and hippocampal loss or a lifestyle, which incorporates daily regular exercise to ensure you keep your memory intact and sharper for longer?

I’ve already made my choice. What’s yours?

Ref:
Erickson, K.I., Voss, M.R., Prakash, R.S. et al
Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory PNAS 2011 108 (7) 3017-3022; published ahead of print January 31, 2011, doi:10.1073/pnas.1015950108

During the last twelve months I have done a lot of writing – a book, my blog posts, some articles, presentations and workshops. They have all been completed with me being in a certain position i.e. sitting at a desk in front of my computer.

I’ve never had to spend so much time on my derriere before and I have to say I noticed a few things.

Firstly something which I can only describe as “writers bottom”, an intense desire to get up, jump up and down or move to do anything physically that would relieve me from the torment of having to sit a moment longer.

I have always endeavoured to ensure I exercise daily, with a 30 to 40 minute walk, some yoga plus a swim a couple of times a week, but this no longer felt adequate to help keep my brain cells firing.

Thirdly I started experiencing backache and various other aches and pains I had never had before. Was it my age I pondered? It was only when I took action to help my sore back by having some physio, doing some cycling and doing yoga that the penny finally dropped – I had advanced “sitting disease” which was impacting my physical and mental well being. Time to change!

But how many of us are not in the position to allow for that change? Luckily I won’t be as dormant next year, as my work will be involving a lot more movement with walking and standing. But if you are a sedentary worker having to sit every day in front of your desk how can you do things differently and overcome the sitting disease?

And it’s not just our bottom, which feels the impact; our tummy muscles lose tone and we tend to put on weight too. The spread of the derriere is accompanied by a spread around the middle. So if your clothes are getting a bit tight and your tummy is protruding more than it used to, perhaps it’s time to consider how much time you are sitting and find a way to sit less.

This week a colleague shared this video clip from Dr Mike, which is one of the best health promotion videos I have seen for a while. He explains exactly WHY exercise is the best prescription your doctor could ever prescribe because it is the remedy to assist so many of our modern day ailments: obesity, depression, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and dementia.

So do yourself a favour, no make that two…..

Firstly watch this video and then commit to filling in your daily prescription of “finding thirty” every day.
And why am I going on about sitting too much? Because of the negative effect it has on our brain function. We evolved to move because it stimulates the production of neurochemicals that support and nurture our existing brain cells as well as promoting the production of new neurons every day.
We need to “find thirty” every day as a minimum to keep our brain working at it’s very best.

So let’s make “sitting disease” and “writer’s bottom” a thing of the past and look to creating a more “brain fit” you.

It’s always good to hear encouraging news, especially when it is about a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. A recent report on the evening news spoke about a vaccine being developed through the University of Sydney.

Associate Professor Lars Ittner from Sydney’s Brain and Mind Research Institute is leading a study into developing a vaccine that targets a specific brain protein called tau that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and fronto- temporal dementia.

In people with dementia, the tau protein forms what are called neurofibrillary tangles, which leads to neuronal death and loss of brain function.

In this study on mice, the vaccine was shown to slow down the development of further neurofibrillary tangles. There was no effect on those tangles that had already formed. So the prospect is that it might be possible if future development of this vaccine occurs for this to be be used in humans once the diagnosis of dementia has been made, and slow down progression of the disease. It is not a cure, but it could buy the person more time for cognitive functioning and possibly work as a preventative if someone is perceived to be at higher risk of developing dementia.

Other researchers around the world have also been looking to develop a vaccine, one to either target tau or amyloid.

Professor Ittner commented that in many studies, vaccines were being trialled in mice with dementia, prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. This study is the first to show that a vaccine targeting tau can be effective once the disease has set in. It is known that the pathological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease start many years before the clinical onset of symptoms. Having a treatment to slow down further progression would be huge step in the right direction.

Earlier this year I wrote a blog about a nasal spray being developed to minimise the potential risk of vascular dementia.

Researchers at Georgetown University, Washington D.C have found that if an antibody is given later in the progression of Alzheimer’s the greater the chance that it will trigger brain inflammation.

In their studies, mice with Alzheimer’s symptoms were given an antibody called PFA1, which was designed to clear amyloid from their brains. Those mice with the greatest amount of amyloid present at the beginning of treatment showed a greater inflammatory response. The take home from this was that the greatest benefit to lower the amount of amyloid would be obtained by using it early on i.e. in the early stages of the disease.

In Germany, researchers at the University of Rostock are investigating a protein ABCC1, which has been shown to help remove amyloid from mice brains. They have also been using a drug commonly used for treating nausea and vomiting (thiethylperazine) to activate this protein, suggesting that using this drug could be of potential benefit to prevent the development of amyloid plaques.

In the US, Scott Webster at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta is also working on an Alzheimer’s vaccine. His vaccine is targeted versus two brain proteins: amyloid and RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end-products). The RAGE protein helps the amyloid get into the brain and contributes to the inflammatory process that the amyloid causes to the brain’s neurons.

Webster’s vaccine is different in that it targets these two proteins. The vaccine uses the body’s own immune system to protect against the overproduction of RAGE and amyloid. His vaccine is different also in that it can be taken orally thus using the gut’s bacteria which are vital to our immune system. Previous vaccines developed elsewhere that have targeted just amyloid, have failed to show benefit in clinical trails and some have also had significant side effects. By targeting the two proteins, Webster is more hopeful that this combination effect will lead to reducing or eliminating the toxic effects of the brain inflammation. Early results in animal studies have been encouraging so far, so the next step will be to use the vaccine trialled in larger animal studies.

With all this amazing work going on around the world we are surely moving closer to having more effective treatments that will be able to stop Alzheimer’s in it’s tracks.

Refs:

Bi M, Ittner A, Ke YD, Götz J, Ittner LM (2011) Tau-Targeted Immunization Impedes Progression of Neurofibrillary Histopathology in Aged P301L Tau Transgenic Mice. PLoS ONE 6(12): e26860. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026860

American Friends of Tel Aviv University (2011, February 28). An Alzheimer’s vaccine in a nasal spray?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2011/02/110228104310.htm

Markus Krohn, Cathleen Lange, Jacqueline Hofrichter, Katja Scheffler, Jan Stenzel, Johannes Steffen, Toni Schumacher, Thomas Brüning, Anne-Sophie Plath, Franziska Alfen, Anke Schmidt, Felix Winter, Katja Rateitschak, Andreas Wree, Jörg Gsponer, Lary C. Walker, Jens Pahnke. Cerebral amyloid-β proteostasis is regulated by the membrane transport protein ABCC1 in mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2011; DOI: 10.1172/JCI57867

Georgia Health Sciences University (2011, September 26). Research points new way to possible Alzheimer’s vaccine. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2011/09/110926104609.htm

I’m delighted to advise that the book “Brain Fit! How smarter thinking can save your brain” is now available for purchase.

The book is a guide to which lifestyle choices make a positive difference to optimising brain health. Choices that promote better thinking and memory skills for us now and which will help to protect our brain from age related cognitive decline and dementia as we get older.

If you want to know:
Which are the healthiest brain foods to eat?
What sort of exercise is good for the brain and how much you need to do?
Why attitude matters and why it is vital to manage stress levels.
How to challenge your brain to stop it from getting rusty

– then this book can provide you the answers.
Available now as a softcover and ebook from the online shop.

The Kindle version will be available soon.

Plus for next year in 2012 there will be series of online webinars looking at specific aspects of our lives and brain health:

How you can change those lifestyle habits which no longer serve you
How to develop skills in managing emotions
How to increase your attention span
How to remember more and
How to develop the skill of making decisions more easily.

The times for the webinars will be posted in the next few weeks. So watch this space!