Friday, March 11, 2005

Exercise, Learning May Fight Off Alzheimer's

Exercise and curiosity could help keep Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative brain diseases at bay.

"It's really common sense that exercise and improved behaviors are going to be important," says Sangram Sisodia, PhD, who worked on a new mouse study.

That means staying fit and taking "opportunities to learn, be inquisitive, and explore the world,"says Sisodia.

"It appears that exercise and physical activity are very important for brain function," agrees Karoly Mirnics, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

In fact, activity could help avoid other brain diseases, too, says Mirnics, who also worked on the mouse study. "What we tapped into is not a very disease-specific process, but a universal process, I think," he tells WebMD.

Many people could stand to be a little more active. Learn a language, do the crossword puzzle, take a walk… the possibilities are endless, even if no one knows which activities are most helpful.

Lazarov, O. Cell, March 11, 2005; vol 120: pp 701-713

No comments: