Higher Physical Activity In Mid-Life May Prevent Development Of Alzheimer’s Disease In Higher-Risk Populations

Middle-aged adults at high family risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity were less likely to develop early brain changes associated with preclinical AD. The beneficial effects of physical activity were noted in a four-year study that included 337 cognitively unimpaired people ages 45 to 65 who had a parent with AD. Increased physical activity was linked to lower amyloid burden (the brain plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease), and those who were more active had lower amyloid burden than those who were sedentary.

The study, ALzheimer’s . . .