14 Oct MRI shows physical activity’s effect in preventing Alzheimer’s

AuntMinnie.com | October 14 – U.S. researchers used MRI to show that walking at least 6 miles per week may preserve brain size and help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment as adults age, according to a study published October 13 in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh used 1.5-tesla MRI to determine that over the course of nine years, older adults who were more physically active had greater gray matter in certain brain regions and had a reduced risk of cognitive impairment (Neurology, Vol. 75:15, pp. 1415-1422).

The 299 participants in the research came from the Cardiovascular Health Study Cognition Study (CHS-CS), which began approximately 20 years ago to explore coronary heart disease and stroke in people age 65 and older. The goal of the CHS-CS was to collect information on the different factors that contribute to cardiovascular health, including physical activity.

Read more on AuntMinnie.com.