![]() Courtesy of Kathleen Miller and Anna Howery from University of Wisconsin, Madison.By understanding the inner workings of exercise in the brain, researchers will not only help devise prevention strategies and interventions much earlier but “if we know the mechanism by which exercise improves blood flow to the brain, we may be able to mimic how that works even for people who cannot exercise safely,” said Barnes. However, recommending exercise in the case of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia “could be reckless because we do not yet know what kind of physical activity is optimal for those patients and there are important safety concerns,” she said.ĭoppler ultrasound image of the middle cerebral artery. ![]() More physical activity always seems like good advice, said Jill Barnes, Ph.D., professor of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the principal investigator, supported through an NHLBI career development award to apply her expertise to the area of cognitive function. This project tries to connect the dots by aiming to show that physical activity keeps the blood vessels healthy, leading to better blood flow to the brain and greater ability to support increased metabolic demands, which in turn, Galis explained, helps to maintain cognitive faculties as we age.īut, doesn’t exercise make everything better? Observational studies show a positive association, but do not explain how the improvement happens. “We know that exercise improves cognitive function, but the mechanism is unknown,” said Zorina Galis, Ph.D., chief of the Vascular Biology and Hypertension Branch, in the NHLBI’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. With a new series of NHLBI-funded studies set to end in 2018, researchers want to build on this current body of knowledge in an effort to understand the “how” behind all these correlations. And previous studies showed that physical activity is associated with increased cerebral blood flow and better cognitive function. They also know that as the body ages, so does the brain, as is often demonstrated by cognitive impairments. Researchers already know, based on findings from the NHLBI-funded Framingham Heart Study and others, that the risk factors for stroke and vascular dementia are similar to those for heart disease and include, significantly, aging and lack of physical activity. When the vessels that supply blood to the brain are too clogged or damaged, the results are dire: a decline in cognitive function, memory loss, and an inability to think, plan, and make decisions. Vascular dementia used to be called post-stroke dementia, because strokes are its leading cause. It is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, affecting about a third of people over age 70 and researchers funded by the NIH’s National, Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI) are taking it on. ![]() But, how?Īnswer that question and you might crack the code for the treatment and, most importantly, prevention of vascular dementia. Kejal Kantarci from the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic.Exercise does the brain a world of good. MRI image of the blood vessels of the brain.Ĭourtesy of Dr.
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