Healthy Brain Aging: Role of Exercise and Physical Activity

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Clinical Research

All clinical evidence related to the prevention of dementia or AD by physical activity is derived from case-control studies and cross-sectional and longitudinal epidemiologic studies. There is currently no evidence, based on RCTs, to state that physical activity is effective in preventing or delaying the onset of dementia or AD. In a recent review,9 24 longitudinal epidemiologic studies were reported evaluating the possible effect of physical activity on cognitive decline, dementia, or AD. Most

Summary

Regular physical activity is a key component of successful aging. Increasing evidence suggests that an active life has a protective effect on brain functioning in the elderly population. Epidemiologic studies, short-term RCTs in nondemented participants, and biologic research suggest that physical activity improves cognitive functioning in older subjects. However, no RCT has yet shown that regular physical activity prevents dementia. Additional interventional studies are needed to examine this

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      Additionally, none of the paths in the proposed mediation model were moderated by disease severity, as assessed by MDS-UPDRS III scores. Neuroprotective effects of physical activity in countering cognitive decline were demonstrated extensively in healthy older adults [25,26], and it has been suggested that similar effects may occur in PD patients [9,27]. The mechanisms by which physical activity ameliorates the symptoms of PD are not well-understood.

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    Financial disclosure statement: Yves Rolland, Gabor Abellan, and Bruno Vellas have reported no financial or other conflicts of interest that might bias their work.

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