Research from Mass General Brigham concluded that walking more, even just a little, could help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
MADRID, Dec. 3 (EUROPA PRESS).- For many people, walk It’s just another daily routine, but what if those steps could change the course of your life? memory and protect your brain? Sometimes the simplest gestures hide a power that science is only beginning to understand.
Physical inactivity is a recognized modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer (EA); However, its relationship with the progression of AD pathology in humans remains unclear, which limits its effective application in prevention trials.
The hidden power of each step
Older adults who walk fewer than 3,000 steps a day and who have high levels of brain beta amyloid show faster cognitive decline and greater accumulation of tau proteins in the brain compared to more active people, according to researchers at Mass General Brigham (United States).
Specifically, according to a new study, increasing the number of steps, even a little, could help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in people at higher risk. Thus, in an article published in ‘Nature Medicine’, researchers at Mass General Brigham discovered that physical activity was associated with a lower rate of cognitive decline in older adults with elevated levels of beta-amyloid, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s.
Cognitive decline was delayed, on average, three years in people who walked between 3,000 and 5,000 steps per day, and seven years in those who walked between 5,000 and 7,500 steps per day. Sedentary people had a significantly faster accumulation of tau proteins in the brain and a faster decline in cognition and daily functioning.
“This explains why some people who appear to be on the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease do not deteriorate as quickly as others,” said Dr. Jasmeer Chhatwal, senior author of the study and a member of the Department of Neurology at Mass General Brigham. “Lifestyle factors appear to influence the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that lifestyle changes could delay the onset of cognitive symptoms if we act early.”
The researchers analyzed data from 296 participants between the ages of 50 and 90 from the Harvard Brain Aging Study, who had no cognitive decline at the start of the study. They used brain positron emission tomography (PET) scans to measure baseline levels of beta-amyloid in plaques and tau in neurofibrillary tangles, and assessed participants’ physical activity using waist pedometers.
Participants underwent annual follow-up cognitive assessments over a period of two to fourteen years (average = 9.3 years), and a subgroup underwent repeat PET scans to monitor changes in tau protein.
Why a few steps make a difference
A higher number of steps was associated with a lower rate of cognitive decline and slower accumulation of tau proteins in participants with elevated baseline levels of beta-amyloid. The researchers’ statistical model suggested that most of the benefits of physical activity related to slowing cognitive decline were due to less accumulation of tau. In contrast, in people with low baseline levels of beta-amyloid, very little cognitive decline or accumulation of tau proteins was observed over time, and no significant associations with physical activity were found.
“We are excited that data from the Harvard Brain Aging Study have contributed to a better understanding of the importance of physical activity in maintaining brain health,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, a neurologist in the Department of Neurology at Mass General Brigham and principal investigator of the study.
“These findings demonstrate that it is possible to develop cognitive resilience and resistance to tau pathology in the context of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. This is especially encouraging in our quest to prevent dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, as well as to reduce dementia caused by multiple factors,” he says.
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to delve deeper into which aspects of physical activity are most important, such as exercise intensity and activity patterns over time. They also plan to investigate the biological mechanisms that link physical activity, tau accumulation, and cognitive health. Crucially, the authors believe that this work can help design future clinical trials that evaluate exercise interventions to slow cognitive decline in old age, especially in people at higher risk due to preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.
“We want to empower people to protect their brain and cognitive health by staying physically active,” concludes Dr. Wai-Ying Wendy Yau, a cognitive neurologist in the Department of Neurology at Mass General Brigham and lead author of the study. “Every step counts, and even small increases in daily physical activity can add up over time to create lasting changes in habits and health.”
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