Whether they jog, swim, garden or dance, physically active older persons have larger gray matter volume in key brain areas responsible for memory and cognition, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UCLA.

The findings, published today in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed also that people who had Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment experienced less gray matter volume reduction over time if their exercise-associated calorie burn was high.

A growing number of studies indicate physical activity can help protect the brain from cognitive decline, said investigator James T. Becker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine. But typically people are more sedentary as they get older, which also is when the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias increases.

“Our current treatments for dementia are limited in their effectiveness, so developing approaches to prevent or slow these disorders is crucial,” Dr. Becker said. “Our study is one of the largest to examine the relationship between physical activity and cognitive decline, and the results strongly support the notion that staying active maintains brain health.”

Led by Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., formerly a student at Pitt School of Medicine and now a senior radiology resident at UCLA, the team examined data obtained over five years from nearly 876 people 65 or older participating in the multicenter Cardiovascular Health Study. All participants had brain scans and periodic cognitive assessments. They also were surveyed about how frequently they engaged in physical activities, such as walking, tennis, dancing and golfing, to assess their calorie expenditure or energy output per week.

Using mathematical modeling, the researchers found that the individuals who burned the most calories had larger gray matter volumes in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes of the brain, areas that are associated with memory, learning and performing complex cognitive tasks. In a subset of more than 300 participants at the Pitt site, those with the highest energy expenditure had larger gray matter volumes in key areas on initial brain scans and were half as likely to have developed Alzheimer’s disease five years later.

“Gray matter houses all of the neurons in your brain, so its volume can reflect neuronal health,” Dr. Raji explained. “We also noted that these volumes increased if people became more active over five years leading up to their brain MRI.”

He added that advancements in technology might soon make it feasible to conduct baseline neuroimaging studies of people who already have mild cognitive impairment or who are at risk for a dementia disorder, with the aim of prescribing lifestyle approaches such as physical activity to prevent further memory deterioration.

“Rather than wait for memory loss, we might consider putting the patient on an exercise program and then rescan later to see if there are any changes in the brain,” Dr. Raji said.

About this Alzheimer’s disease research

Other members of the research team include Kirk I. Erickson, Ph.D., Oscar L. Lopez, M.D., H. Michael Gachi, Ph.D., and Lewis Kuller, M.D., Dr.P.H., all of the University of Pittsburgh; David A. Merrill, M.D., Ph.D., Harris Eyre, M.D., Sravya Mallam, B.S., Nare Torosyan, B.S., and Paul M. Thompson, Ph.D., all of UCLA; Owen T. Carmichael, Ph.D., of University of California, Davis; and W.T. Longstreth, Jr., M.D., of the University of Washington.

Funding: The research was supported in part by funds from contract numbers N01-HC-80007, N01-HC-85079 through N01-540 HC-85086, N01-HC-35129, N01-HC-15103, N01-541 HC-55222, N01-HC-75150, N01-HC-45133 and grant HL080295 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, with additional contribution from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Source: Anita Srikameswaran – UPMC

Image Source: The image is in the public domain.

Original Research: Abstract for “Longitudinal Relationships between Caloric Expenditure and Gray Matter in the Cardiovascular Health Study” by Raji, Cyrus A.; Merrill, David A.; Eyre, Harris; Mallam, Sravya; Torosyan, Nare; Erickson, Kirk I.; Lopez, Oscar L.; Becker, James T.; Carmichael, Owen T.; Gach, H. Michael; Thompson, Paul M.; Longstreth Jr., W.T.; and Kuller, Lewis H. in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Published online March 10 2016 doi:10.3233/JAD-160057

Abstract

Longitudinal Relationships between Caloric Expenditure and Gray Matter in the Cardiovascular Health Studyg

Background: Physical activity (PA) can be neuroprotective and reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In assessing physical activity, caloric expenditure is a proxy marker reflecting the sum total of multiple physical activity types conducted by an individual.

Objective: To assess caloric expenditure, as a proxy marker of PA, as a predictive measure of gray matter (GM) volumes in the normal and cognitively impaired elderly persons.

Methods: All subjects in this study were recruited from the Institutional Review Board approved Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a multisite population-based longitudinal study in persons aged 65 and older. We analyzed a sub-sample of CHS participants 876 subjects (mean age 78.3, 57.5% F, 42.5% M) who had i) energy output assessed as kilocalories (kcal) per week using the standardized Minnesota Leisure-Time Activities questionnaire, ii) cognitive assessments for clinical classification of normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD, and iii) volumetric MR imaging of the brain. Voxelbased morphometry modeled the relationship between kcal/week and GM volumes while accounting for standard covariates including head size, age, sex, white matter hyperintensity lesions, MCI or AD status, and site. Multiple comparisons were controlled using a False Discovery Rate of 5 percent.

Results: Higher energy output, from a variety of physical activity types, was associated with larger GM volumes in frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, as well as hippocampus, thalamus, and basal ganglia. High levels of caloric expenditure moderated neurodegeneration-associated volume loss in the precuneus, posterior cingulate, and cerebellar vermis.



Conclusion: Increasing energy output from a variety of physical activities is related to larger gray matter volumes in the elderly, regardless of cognitive status.

“Longitudinal Relationships between Caloric Expenditure and Gray Matter in the Cardiovascular Health Study” by Raji, Cyrus A.; Merrill, David A.; Eyre, Harris; Mallam, Sravya; Torosyan, Nare; Erickson, Kirk I.; Lopez, Oscar L.; Becker, James T.; Carmichael, Owen T.; Gach, H. Michael; Thompson, Paul M.; Longstreth Jr., W.T.; and Kuller, Lewis H. in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Published online March 10 2016 doi:10.3233/JAD-160057

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