New Study Shows Regular Exercise May Help Slow The Cognitive Decline Of Aging

According to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia, regular physical activity can help people maintain their strength as they age while protecting the body against illness and chronic injury. The research results revealed that the protections can extend to the brain.

Researchers concluded that exercise can prevent cognitive decline in mice “with a “profound and selective effect” on specific identified types of brain cells. Although the study’s results likely apply to humans, the exact mechanisms that drive the health effect are not entirely understood. 

The conducted study examined groups of young and old mice aged either 3 or 18 months. The groups were either living a sedentary or active lifestyle so that researchers could examine the effects of regular physical activity in tandem with aging on gene expressions within a brain structure associated with learning and memory.

Study co-author Jana Vukovic said, “We found that aging significantly alters the gene expression of all cell types in the brain, but had the greatest impact on the microglia, which are immune cells of the central nervous system that support brain function.” 

Vukovic is a neuroimmunologist at the University of Queensland’s Biomedical Sciences and the Queensland Brain Institute. They continued, “Our research showed that exercise, in the form of a running wheel for the mice, reverted the gene profile of aged microglia to patterns seen in younger versions of the microglial cells.”

Giving mice the ability to run on a wheel consistently showed that, while aging broadly degraded brain cells, exercise was able to counteract the negative effect. 

“Microglia were the only type of brain cell that showed a significant reversal of changes brought about by aging…”

“Giving the mice access to a running wheel prevented or reduced the presence of T cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved with memory and learning, during aging. This shows that exercise reduces a process associated with aging in mice,” Vukovic said.

Vukovic acknowledged that a mouse study is not directly applicable to the complex human brains, but the results still suggest something that can be used in our lives. 

“Our findings in mice provide a platform for research into the human brain and aging,” she explained. “Further research could eventually develop therapeutic ways to target specific cell types to combat aging of the brain.”