Resistance Exercise Slows the Onset of Pathology in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer ' s Disease

With the caveat that mouse models of Alzheimer's disease are quite artificial, as aged wild-type mice do not suffer from any condition resembling Alzheimer's, and the models are thus built upon assumptions about which processes are important to the progression of the condition, researchers here show that resistance exercise slows the pathology and loss of cognitive function in one such model. Resistance exercise is well demonstrated to improve metabolism, immune function, and reduce mortality in both older animals and humans. It would not be too surprising to find that sedentary individuals are performing more poorly in the onset of dementia in addition to other aspects of degenerative aging. Physical exercise has beneficial effects by providing neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory responses to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most studies, however, have been conducted with aerobic exercise, and few have investigated the effects of other modalities that also show positive effects on AD, such as resistance exercise (RE). In addition to its benefits in developing muscle strength, balance and muscular endurance favoring improvements in the quality of life of the elderly, RE reduces amyloid load and local inflammation, promotes memory and cognitive improvements, and protects the cortex and hippocampus from the degeneration that occurs in AD. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 4 weeks of RE intermittent training on the prevention and recov...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs