A new Mayo
Clinic study found that regular physical exercise may help protect against
mild cognitive impairment, a disorder of the brain that affects nerve cells
involved in thinking abilities. This study will be presented at the
American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Chicago on April 16.

Individuals with mild cognitive impairment can function reasonably well
in everyday activities, but often have difficulty remembering details of
conversations, events and upcoming appointments. Most (but not all)
patients with mild cognitive impairment develop a progressive decline in
their thinking abilities over time. Alzheimer’s disease is usually the
underlying cause.

“While the benefits of exercise are well documented for improving
overall health, this is one of the first studies to specifically look at
whether it can help protect against the development of mild cognitive
impairment,” says Yonas Endale Geda, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neuropsychiatrist
and the study’s lead investigator.

As part of the ongoing Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, Dr. Geda and a team
of Mayo Clinic researchers randomly identified 868 individuals 70 to 89
years old. Of those, 128 had mild cognitive impairment and 740 were
cognitively normal. The team conducted surveys to gather data on the
individuals’ physical exercise between the ages of 50 and 65 and one year
prior to the survey. They found that moderate physical exercise two to five
times per week during the ages of 50 to 65 was associated with a reduced
risk of mild cognitive impairment. However, the individual’s exercise
habits one year prior to the survey did not appear to be associated with a
reduced risk.

According to Dr. Geda, these findings need to be replicated in a
prospective cohort study. Additionally, the study did not address how
physical exercise could protect against mild cognitive impairment.

“Regarding the mechanism of action of physical exercise and mild
cognitive impairment, we speculate that either exercise induces chemicals
that protect brain cells, or exercise is simply a marker for an overall
healthy lifestyle, or there is some positive interaction among exercise,
healthy lifestyle and intellectually stimulating activity,” says Dr. Geda.

Dr. Geda and his team will continue to follow the study participants to
examine if the case-control study finding will also hold true in further
studies. Other members of the Mayo Clinic research team included Rosebud
Roberts, M.B.Ch.B., David Knopman, M.D., Teresa Christianson, V. Shane
Pankratz, Ph.D., Bradley Boeve, M.D., Eric Tangalos, M.D., Robert Ivnik,
Ph.D., Walter Rocca, M.D., and Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D.

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