Here’s how exercise alters our brain chemistry – and could prevent dementia

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: Emma Charlton, Senior Writer, Formative Content

• Exercise boosts levels of a protein that strengthens communication between brain cells.
• Physical activity may help build synaptic health, even at late ages, new research shows.
• Protecting brain health is rising up the agenda as the world population gets older.
• By 2050, the number of adults over 65 is expected to double and cases of dementia may rise even faster.

Exercise helps protect your brain against ageing, according to a new study that adds to the multiple reasons to stay active.

While it’s long been known that exercise is good for our general wellbeing and health, this new data shows how physical activity can alter the brain chemistry that maintains synapses – the junctions between nerve cells. “With many societies around the world ageing at a rapid pace, such research adds to the conversation about how we can manage that process more effectively.

The fact that exercising lowers the risk of developing dementia has been shown in other studies, including one by the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, but this new research takes things one step further by starting to demonstrate how.

“We suggest physical activity may help build synaptic health, even at late ages,” say the researchers from the University of California, San Francisco. “Our data are the first to demonstrate a link between lifestyle behaviour, physical activity, and markers of synaptic integrity in human brain tissue.” https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1479514800912834560&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weforum.org%2Fagenda%2F2022%2F01%2Fexercise-protect-brain-dementia-alzheimers%2F&sessionId=dc6f6839edea5022b3518df3ba36c797c0165418&theme=light&widgetsVersion=75b3351%3A1642573356397&width=550px

A boost for the brain

Staying active means the brain has more of a class of proteins that enhances the connections between neurons, according to Kaitlin Casaletto, an assistant professor of neurology and lead author on the study. The positive impact was found even in people whose brains at autopsy were “riddled with toxic proteins” that are associated with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, the study found. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1462844838576017418&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weforum.org%2Fagenda%2F2022%2F01%2Fexercise-protect-brain-dementia-alzheimers%2F&sessionId=dc6f6839edea5022b3518df3ba36c797c0165418&theme=light&widgetsVersion=75b3351%3A1642573356397&width=550px

The new data underlines the benefits of physical activity and sets out another reason to stay active in older age. The brains of most older adults accumulate toxic proteins that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Many scientists believe these toxins cause synapses and neurons to break down, and Casaletto’s work shows the importance of maintaining synaptic integrity to slow this process down.

Living longer

Examining how we can age more healthily matters because more of us are living longer. The number of adults aged over 65 globally will double between 2025 and 2050, taking it to 1.6 billion, according to the US Census Bureau.

This will throw up a raft of challenges, as older adults are more affected by chronic ailments. It also means that cases of dementia are predicted to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050, from around 55 million today, according to World Health Organization estimates.

Dementia is an umbrella term for a collection of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain and which impact memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. The most common is Alzheimer’s disease, and other types include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia.

Tackling Alzheimer’s is a key focus for the World Economic Forum, which launched a campaign to increase collective action and fast-track policies, practices and partnerships to help new diagnostics and treatments.

What is the World Economic Forum doing to combat Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s Diesease, a result of rapid ageing that causes dementia, is a growing concern. Dementia, the seventh leading cause of death worldwide, cost the world $1.25 trillion in 2018, and affected about 50 million people in 2019. Without major breakthroughs, the number of people affected will triple by 2050, to 152 million.

To catalyse the fight against Alzheimer’s, the World Economic Forum is partnering with the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) to form a coalition of public and private stakeholders – including pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotech companies, governments, international organizations, foundations and research agencies.

The initiative aims to advance pre-clinical research to advance the understanding of the disease, attract more capital by lowering the risks to investment in biomarkers, develop standing clinical trial platforms, and advance healthcare system readiness in the fields of detection, diagnosis, infrastructure and access.

“Dementia is now the 7th leading cause of mortality globally,” says Alzheimer’s Disease International chief executive Paola Barbarino. “There is a perfect storm gathering on the horizon and governments all over the world should get to grips with it.” https://www.youtube.com/embed/01xaVZ1sd5M?enablejsapi=1&wmode=transparent