MCI Symposium: Memory Loss and Exercise

Nicola Lautenschlager, MD, FRANZCP

I recently started running again, five years after a knee injury slowed me down.  It isn't pretty, but it might be good for my brain.

At last year’s MCI Symposium, Nicola Lautenschlager, Professor of Psychiatry of Old Age at the University of Western Australia, presented the results of a clinical trial of exercise to prevent cognitive decline. Those who took part in an exercise program actually improved their scores on tests of memory and thinking.

     Yonas Geda, MD

Since then, results of several studies on exercise to prevent memory loss or improve memory and thinking have been published, including a population-based study led by Yonas Geda at Mayo Clinic and a small trial led by Laura Baker at the University of Washington.

Laura Baker, Ph.D.

The results of these studies are being published so fast I can hardly keep up.  You can read what I've found out so far in my latest report on the MCI Symposium.

Comments

[Danny George]

Thank you for pulling this together Mona. "Why wait?" Indeed, that seems to be the common sense conclusion to draw from all this research. Let's not forget that we evolved as hunter-gatherers and that both those activities involved moving our bodies for long periods of time each day! Best wishes in your own workout regimen - awesome that you're back running again. take care

[Alzheimer's Support Canada]

Thanks for sharing this information. I think that this goes to prove how quickly that things are advancing in this field, and opens a world of opportunity for research in Alzheimer's / Dementia areas.

[Otto Hunt]

Check out this exercise-mind link: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/what-sort-of-exercise-can-make-you-smarter/