Growing research finds physical and mental 'workouts' can keep you sharp in later life, report experts at American Geriatrics Society Conference

PHILADELPHIA, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Incremental age-related changes in memory and other aspects of cognitive functioning often start to appear in early adulthood, rather than beginning abruptly in late adulthood, but physical and mental activity can help adults stay sharp throughout their lives, according to leading experts who met here last week for a major conference on cognitive vitality.

The March 1-3 conference, "Does Mental and Physical Activity Promote Cognitive Vitality in Late Life?" was organized by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and made possible by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

"Older persons are very concerned about declining mental abilities," said Howard Fillit, M.D., the meeting chairman and the Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Aging in New York City. "But during the past decade, research has shown that lifestyle factors, such as getting physical exercise and ongoing mental stimulation from social or occupational involvement, may prevent mental decline."

Numerous animal and human studies have found that physical exercise and intellectually stimulating activities can promote lifelong "cognitive vitality" in a variety of ways. Among the findings experts discussed during the conference:

  * Regular physical exercise appears to help preserve cognitive function

    via several mechanisms -- by  spurring  the creation of new blood

    vessels in the brain and new connections among brain cells (or

    "neurons"), and by encouraging  the creation of neurons. Though

    prevailing wisdom had been that neurogenesis, or the creation of new

    brain cells, ended after adolescence, more recent studies have shown

    that certain regions of the brain create new neurons even in adulthood.

 

  * Both physical exercise and activities that are intellectually simulating

    may help the brain "stay young" by prompting the production of certain

    hormones and neurochemicals, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor

    (BDNF), a neurochemical that plays a key role in learning and memory.

 

  * In mice that are genetically engineered to develop a disease similar to

    Alzheimer's, living in a stimulating environment and running regularly

    have been shown to both improve learning and decrease the build-up of

    beta-amyloid, a protein that appears to contribute to the creation of

    brain lesions characteristic of the disease.

 

  * In the watershed Nurses' Health Study, women 70 and older who exercised

    regularly -- for instance, by walking at a leisurely pace for 90 minutes

    per week -- ran a lower risk of cognitive impairment than those who were

    inactive.

 

  * Several large studies have found that older persons who often engage in

    intellectually stimulating activities -- including social activities,

    which involve intellectual effort -- are less likely to develop

    Alzheimer's than those who do so less frequently.

 

  * Cognitive stimulation in childhood and middle age may also lessen the

    odds of developing late-life dementia.

 

  * "Mental exercise programs" developed to provide cognitive stimulation

    appear to enhance cognitive function in older adults.

 

In light of the great promise these findings hold for older adults, researchers need to find ways to bring programs that extend cognitive longevity into the community, the researchers agreed. Programs such as SilverSneakers, an exercise program offered by Axia Health, and offered in part through Medicare managed care organizations to more than 2.4 million older adults nationwide, is effective in encouraging older adults to be physically active, experts who evaluated the program reported. So are programs such as "Experience Corps," a Johns Hopkins initiative that matches older volunteer tutors and mentors with schoolchildren in troubled urban schools. In one study, Experience Corps volunteers reported greater social and cognitive involvement and physical well being. Among other things, the use of canes decreased 50 percent among the volunteers. The frequency of falls also declined.

"Does Mental and Physical Activity Promote Cognitive Vitality in Late Life?" was the third of three AGS-initiated, NIA-supported "From Bedside to Bench" conferences devoted to advancing research essential to improving health in later life. Previous "From Bedside to Bench" conferences focused on comobidity (or multiple health problems) in the aging, and on frailty.

ABOUT AGS

Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society is a nationwide, not-for-profit association of geriatrics health care professionals dedicated to improving the health, independence and quality of life of all older people. The Society supports this mission through activities in clinical practice, professional and public education, research and public policy. With an active membership of over 6,700 health care professionals, the Society has become a pivotal force in shaping attitudes, policies and practices in geriatric medicine.

Source: American Geriatrics Society