The Alzheimer disease is the leading cause of dementia and accounts for more than 60% of diagnosed dementia cases worldwide, with approximately 10 million new patients diagnosed each year. Although there are currently no proven strategies to prevent it, there is consistent evidence that various factors associated with a lifestyle Healthy life may have a positive effect on reducing the risk of developing the disease. In this sense, year after year, science advances in new findings and data on how a healthy routine can contribute to the well-being of people and even save lives, in some cases. The physical exercise It is, without a doubt, a key piece to maintain an agile mind and prevent diseases associated with aging As is the case with Alzheimer’s.
Studies show that people who are physically active are less likely to have impaired mental function and have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s. This has been confirmed by the University of Otago, in New Zealand, which found that only six minutes of intense exercise may help prevent the risk of Alzheimer’s. A simple Daily exercise that protects the brain even though the long neurodegenerative process has begun.
A specialized protein
In the investigation, which was published in the specialized magazine The Journal of Physiology, scientists described that a short but high intensity exercise is most effective in increasing the production of a specialized protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is essential for learning and memory, and prevents cognitive decline age related.
The neurotrophic factor, it is a key mediator in the enhancement of synaptic connections (a prerequisite for our nerve impulses to travel through highways of neural networks), and in the brain’s ability to change and remodel these connections (plasticity).
”At least 6 minute interval cycling High-intensity cycling increased each BDNF metric 4 to 5 times more than prolonged low-intensity cycling. In comparison with a day of fasting With or without prolonged light exercise, high-intensity exercise is a much more efficient means of increasing the circulation of BDNF,” the experts described in the publication.
Fasting and physical exercise
The authors point out that the origin of this research was based on the exploration of non-pharmacological methods and approaches that may preserve the brain’s ability to naturally increase BDNF and help with healthy aging.
Thus, the researchers added another important and trending variant: the fast. Fasting and exercise are rarely studied together, so the researchers looked at both factors to optimize BDNF production in the human brain. They compared the following factors, both individually and in combination, in a study with 12 participants (six men and six women) between the ages of 18 and 56.
”Both intermittent fasting and exercise have powerful neuroprotective effects and a sharp upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) appears to be a common mechanistic link. The 20 hour fast caused a 9-fold increase in the supply of ketone bodies to the brain, but had no effect on any BDNF metrics,” the authors noted.
The differences between both factors will have to be more precise with time and further investigation. One of the hypotheses is glucose and lactate production. Glucose is the main engine of brain energy. When you exercise, unlike when you eat, lactate is released. This transition from glucose to lactate consumption would initiate metabolic pathways that lead to increased production of BDNF in the blood.
On the other hand, the increase in BDNF could also be due to to an increase in the number of platelets, which store large amounts of this factor. The number of platelets increased by up to 20% with exercise, but not as much with fasting.
Researchers, like other studies, have shown that exercise can maintain or improve brain plasticity in animal trials. so, of face to the futureand aims to better study the relationship between the exercise and diet or fasting, to be able to integrate a comprehensive treatment that prevents or improves the symptoms of cognitive impairment.
Other exercises to increase brain plasticity
The Center for Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center (USA) proposes a series of simple exercises that you can transfer to your patients with the training obtained with the master’s degree in neuropsychology:
1. Trying to shower with your eyes closed: locate the faucets, adjust the water temperature, look for the soap and find the shampoo. 2. Use your non-dominant hand to eat, write, uncover the toothpaste or brush your teeth. 3. Reading aloud to activate other brain circuits than when reading silently.4. Change itineraries and take other routes to go to work or return home.5. Modify routines and change the location of everyday objects of use.6. Learn something new: computers, photography, cooking, yoga, dance or a language.7. Identify objects without looking at them. For example, recognizing different fruits or vegetables through touch8. Do different things. Go out, talk with people of different ages, jobs and ideologies. Going out to the countryside, walking on the beach, in the mountains, climbing, etc.
