This week, on my
homepage, I provided a summary of the top news for the month of June in health,
nutrition, and medicine. In my introduction, I discussed the theme of lifestyle
medicine as a preventative and effective strategy in reducing risk of various diseases.
There is a large amount of research in this area and in this blog I review some
of the studies on how exercise impacts the brain and body.
But first, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite studies
this month. It was based on how a personalized intervention program actually
reversed Alzheimer’s disease in 10 subjects!
Reversal of Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease with Personalized
Approach
A paper
published in Aging reported on ten
case studies, including subjects with genetic risks, who showed reversal of
Alzheimer’s disease using a comprehensive, personalized approach known as the MEND
protocol. In this method, doctors assess an individual’s medical history,
genetics, lifestyle, lab work, and current medications and use these results to
find the best FDA-approved medications, supplements, and lifestyle changes for
that specific patient’s needs. Results prior to the intervention and after were
based on quantitative MRI and neuropsychological testing.
The authors
summarize the amazing findings in their discussion as follows:
These observations provide further
support for the previously reported finding that the personalized protocol for
metabolic enhancement (note that the metabolic evaluation included parameters
shown to affect Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology, such as homocysteine [15],
glucose [16], and inflammation [17], as well as numerous others as previously
described [3]) in Alzheimer’s disease leads to the reversal of cognitive
decline in at least some patients with early Alzheimer’s disease or its
precursors, MCI (mild cognitive impairment) and SCI (subjective cognitive
impairment). To our knowledge, the magnitude of the improvements documented in
patients 1 and 2 is unequaled in previous reports: in patient 1, the increase
in hippocampal volume from 17th percentile to 75th percentile
supports the marked symptomatic improvement that he (and others) achieved on
the protocol. In patient 2, quantitative neuropsychological testing
demonstrated improvements of up to three standard deviations (CVLT-IIB, from 3rd
percentile to 84th percentile), with multiple tests all showing
marked improvements. These findings complement and support the marked
subjective improvement already published for this patient [3].
Exercise
and Movement for Memory Boost
A
new study with 72 participants randomized them into three groups: exercise
prior, four hours later, or no exercise, in relation to the completion of a
memory task. 48 hours later, the participants returned to assess their memory
and have a brain scan of representation of the task in the memory region.
According to Medical Xpress, “The researchers found that those who exercised
four hours after their learning session retained the information better two
days later than those who exercised either immediately or not at all. The brain
images also showed that exercise after a time delay was associated with more
precise representations in the hippocampus, an area important to learning and
memory, when an individual answered a question correctly.”
It’s
not just interval training that may boost brain function. In a pilot study with
older adults, it was found that yoga caused changes in neural connections in
the brain and memory improvement. The study was a small group comparison
consisting of 25 subjects with cognitive impairment. The researchers assessed
yoga versus memory enhancement training for 12 weeks. According to the study, “The yoga group demonstrated a statistically
significant improvement in depression and visuospatial memory. We observed
improved verbal memory performance correlated with increased connectivity
between the DMN and frontal medial cortex, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex,
right middle frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and left lateral
occipital cortex. Improved verbal memory performance positively correlated with
increased connectivity between the language processing network and the left
inferior frontal gyrus. Improved visuospatial memory performance correlated
inversely with connectivity between the superior parietal network and the
medial parietal cortex.”
Exercise May Help Adults Cope with ADHD (Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
In a recent study with 32 young men with ADHD
researchers at the University of Georgia found that exercise helped the
subjects with focus and motivation. According to Science Daily, the participants “cycled at a moderate intensity for 20 minutes on one day, and on
another day sat and rested for 20 minutes as a control condition. The
participants were asked to perform a task requiring focus both before and after
the different conditions, and researchers noted leg movement, mood, attention
and self-reported motivation to perform the task. As a result, researchers
found that it was only after the exercise when the participants felt motivated
to do the task; they also felt less confused and fatigued and instead felt more
energetic. Interestingly, leg movements and performance on the task did not
change after the exercise–rather, the exercise helped the young men feel
better about doing the task.”
Lifestyle
Intervention Works for Diabetics at Risk
Results
from a recent lifestyle intervention program developed at the University of
Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health demonstrated the positive impact on
diabetes and heart disease risk using the Group Lifestyle Balance program. The study consisted of
223 participants who had prediabetes and/or metabolic syndrome. The program was
modified from the lifestyle intervention program used in the highly successful
U.S. Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). The DPP previously demonstrated that
weight loss and physical activity outperformed drugs in preventing diabetes or
metabolic syndrome. According to a recent report on the study in Science Daily, “Group Lifestyle Balance is a 22-session program administered over a
one-year period aimed at helping people make lifestyle changes to lower their
risk for diabetes and heart disease. The goals of the program are to help
participants reduce their weight by 7 percent and increase their moderate
intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking) to a minimum of 150 minutes
per week.
Read more on the power of lifestyle medicine on my current blog here.
Sources:
Aging
Article: http://www.aging-us.com/article/9R5JsRe8k4Jq7uTXj/text#fulltext
Mend
Protocol: https://museslabs.com/individuals/
Medical
Xpress: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-hours.html
J Alzheimers Dis.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27060939/
Science
Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160616141350.htm
Science
Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160608104252.htm
