有氧運動可以改善癡呆癥患者的記憶力

有氧運動可以改善癡呆癥患者的記憶力

The results of a year-long trial led by researchers at UT Southwestern have homed in on how aerobic exercise can improve memory in older subjects with mild cognitive impairment. The findings suggest it is never too late to start exercising as aerobic activity improves blood flow to regions of the brain associated with memory.

美國猶他州西南大學(xué)的研究人員領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了一項為期一年的試驗，研究結(jié)果集中在有氧運動如何改善輕度認(rèn)知障礙的老年人的記憶。研究結(jié)果表明，隨著有氧運動改善大腦中與記憶相關(guān)區(qū)域的血液流動，開始鍛煉永遠(yuǎn)不會太遲。

“We’ve shown that even when your memory starts to fade, you can still do something about it by adding aerobic exercise to your lifestyle,” explains lead author on the new study, Binu Thomas.

“我們已經(jīng)證明，即使你的記憶力開始衰退，你仍然可以通過在你的生活方式中增加有氧運動來改善它。”這項新研究的主要作者比努托馬斯解釋說。

The study focused on the long-term changes to cerebral blood flow stemming from aerobic exercise in subjects already presenting with age-related mild cognitive impairment. Thirty subjects – with an average age of 66, no reporting of regular exercise, and signs of memory impairment – were split into two groups.

這項研究的重點是在已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)與年齡相關(guān)的輕度認(rèn)知障礙的受試者中，有氧運動引起的腦血流的長期變化。將30名平均年齡為66歲，沒有定期運動報告和記憶力減退跡象的受試者分為兩組。

One group was tasked with completing several aerobic exercise sessions per week for 12 months, while the other group performed stretch and balance sessions designed to strengthen upper and lower body while keeping heart rates low. At the beginning and end of the year-long study MRI scans measured cerebral blood flow in all participants.

一組的任務(wù)是在12個月內(nèi)每周完成幾次有氧運動，而另一組則進(jìn)行旨在加強(qiáng)上下身體同時保持低心率的伸展和平衡訓(xùn)練。在為期一年的研究開始和結(jié)束時，核磁共振掃描測量了所有參與者的腦血流量。

After 12 months the aerobic exercise group displayed increased cerebral blood flow to the anterior cingulate cortex and adjacent prefrontal cortex, relative to the stretching group. Memory tests conducted at the beginning and end of the study also revealed a 47-percent improvement in the aerobic group, compared to only minimal improvements in the stretching group. The study notes a direct correlation between improvement on the memory test scores and increases in cerebral blood flow to these key brain regions.

12個月后，有氧運動組與拉伸組相比，大腦前扣帶回皮質(zhì)和鄰近前額葉皮質(zhì)的血流量增加。在研究開始和結(jié)束時進(jìn)行的記憶測試也顯示有氧運動組有47%的改善，而拉伸運動組只有很小的改善。這項研究指出，記憶測試分?jǐn)?shù)的提高與這些關(guān)鍵腦區(qū)的腦血流量的增加有直接關(guān)系。

“Cerebral blood flow is a part of the puzzle, and we need to continue piecing it together,” notes Thomas. “But we’ve seen enough data to know that starting a fitness program can have lifelong benefits for our brains as well as our hearts.”

托馬斯說：“腦血流是這個難題的一部分，我們需要繼續(xù)把它拼湊在一起。”。“但我們已經(jīng)看到了足夠的數(shù)據(jù)，知道開始一項健身計劃可以為我們的大腦和心臟帶來終生的益處。”

The cohort studied was indeed small, however, the results are in line with a large volume of prior research affirming the value of exercise in maintaining cognitive abilities in older age. Aerobic exercise seems to confer the greatest cognitive protections, especially in those most at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

研究的人群的確很小，但是，其結(jié)果均符合用大量的以前的研究肯定鍛煉價值保持認(rèn)知能力的年齡。有氧運動似乎賦予了最大的認(rèn)知保護(hù)，尤其是在那些最容易患阿爾茨海默氏病的人中。

The researchers note the cohort recruited in the study all reported little to no regular exercise before the trial. The novelty of this particular trial is that it offers an indication that aerobic exercise can confer cognitive benefits even when started at an advanced age, after memory decline has already commenced, and those cognitive benefits may be mediated specifically by improved blood flow to specific regions of the brain.

The new study was published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

這項新研究發(fā)表在《老年癡呆癥雜志》上。