Exercise, Games, Puzzles Don't Prevent Signs of Alzheimer's in the Brain: Study
Exercise, Games, Puzzles Don't Prevent Signs of Alzheimer's in the Brain: Study
In fact, although people who kept their brains busy with stimulating mental activities had higher IQs and better mental performance compared with those who did not often take part in such activities, researchers found no relationship between mental or physical activity and signs of Alzheimer's disease in the brain.
Johnson acknowledged that the study was limited because it didn't follow people over a long time to see what changes might occur in the brain. The study also asked people to recall activities they'd done in the past. He said studies that follow people's activities over a long period are needed to confirm these findings.
Despite the current results, Johnson said that a lifetime of physical and mental activity may help keep the brain sharper with age. He also stressed that these findings should not be taken as a reason to not keep mentally and physically active, since other studies have shown these can benefit the brain.
Dr. Sam Gandy, director of the Center for Cognitive Health at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said that mental function is far more important than amyloid plaque in the brain.
"No one comes in to see a doctor complaining that their head is full of amyloid," he said.
"The mechanisms underlying the mental benefit of physical and mental activity may well have more to do with how the brain copes with pathology [disease] and less about controlling how much pathology is present," he said.
It would be nice if physical and mental exercise helped reduce amyloid plaque as well, and some studies find exercise is especially effective in reducing plaque in people with an APOE4 gene mutation (a gene linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease), Gandy said.
"But mental function is the most important benefit by far," he said. "People should still exercise and use their brains."
Exercise, Puzzles and Alzheimer's Signs in Brain
In fact, although people who kept their brains busy with stimulating mental activities had higher IQs and better mental performance compared with those who did not often take part in such activities, researchers found no relationship between mental or physical activity and signs of Alzheimer's disease in the brain.
Johnson acknowledged that the study was limited because it didn't follow people over a long time to see what changes might occur in the brain. The study also asked people to recall activities they'd done in the past. He said studies that follow people's activities over a long period are needed to confirm these findings.
Despite the current results, Johnson said that a lifetime of physical and mental activity may help keep the brain sharper with age. He also stressed that these findings should not be taken as a reason to not keep mentally and physically active, since other studies have shown these can benefit the brain.
Dr. Sam Gandy, director of the Center for Cognitive Health at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said that mental function is far more important than amyloid plaque in the brain.
"No one comes in to see a doctor complaining that their head is full of amyloid," he said.
"The mechanisms underlying the mental benefit of physical and mental activity may well have more to do with how the brain copes with pathology [disease] and less about controlling how much pathology is present," he said.
It would be nice if physical and mental exercise helped reduce amyloid plaque as well, and some studies find exercise is especially effective in reducing plaque in people with an APOE4 gene mutation (a gene linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease), Gandy said.
"But mental function is the most important benefit by far," he said. "People should still exercise and use their brains."
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