Kwabena Boahen Asare ’25, Health Sciences, 22W
Figure: Several older men and women performing aerobics in Funsi, Ghana.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Reports from the Mayo Clinic, the Alzheimer’s Association, and other leading institutions in medicine have found that many neurological disorders can be attributed to a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Today, many research institutions seek to understand how biopsychosocial factors affect the body’s neurology.
Dr. Kaitlin Casaletto, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurology at the UCSF, and William Honer, MD, a psychiatry professor at the University of British Columbia researched how workouts can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly. Using data from Rush University’s Memory and Aging Project, Casaletto and Honer studied the merits of exercise on the body of aged people. Their studies revealed that elderly people who remained energetic had increased proteins that facilitate neuronal communication. The effects of these proteins are important for the hippocampus, which is associated with memory retention, and other brain areas related to cognitive function. Honer states, “It may be that physical activity exerts a global sustaining effect, supporting and stimulating [the] healthy function of proteins that facilitate synaptic transmission throughout the brain” (Casaletto et al., 2022).
From her previous research, Casaletto found that synaptic integrity, whether measured in the brain tissues of autopsied adults or spinal fluids of living adults, appeared to dampen the relationship between amyloid and tau and between tau and neurodegeneration (ScienceDaily, 2022). Amyloid is an abnormal protein that is produced in the bone marrow and can deposit in any organ or tissue (Mayo Clinic, 2021). Tau is a protein that helps to stabilize the internal skeleton of nerve cells(neurons) within the brain (1). Researchers at Boston University’s School of medicine add that tau oligomers, which are groupings of tau protein that is toxic, is associated with disease progression and memory loss in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Ash et al., 2021). Some scientists, including Casaletto, also believe that amyloid works in conjunction with tau to cause synapses and neurons to break down.
Ultimately, Casaletto and Honer’s study shows how exercising can bolster the proteins involved in maintaining the brain’s cognitive function. Physicians and healthcare institutions should hence advocate for more physical health resources for senior citizens. Researchers and neurologists should also conduct more studies on which types of exercise are the best for long-term brain health, and the average amount of time spent working out per day/week that could be beneficial. Casaletto concludes, “In older adults with higher levels of the proteins associated with synaptic integrity, this cascade of neurotoxicity that leads to Alzheimer’s disease appears to be attenuated” (Marks, 2022).
References
Ash, P. E. A., Lei, S., Shattuck, J., Boudeau, S., Carlomagno, Y., Medalla, M., Mashimo, B. L., Socorro, G., Al-Mohanna, L. F. A., Jiang, L., Öztürk, M. M., Knobel, M., Ivanov, P., Petrucelli, L., Wegmann, S., Kanaan, N. M., & Wolozin, B. (2021). TIA1 potentiates tau phase separation and promotes generation of toxic oligomeric tau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(9), e2014188118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2014188118
Casaletto, Kaitlin, et al. “Late‐Life Physical Activity Relates to Brain Tissue Synaptic Integrity Markers in Older Adults.” Alzheimer’s Association, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 7 Jan. 2022, https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.12530.
Mayo Clinic. “Alzheimer’s Disease.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 26 June 2021, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350447#
“Researchers Identify Biochemical Process Responsible for Producing Toxic Tau.” School of Medicine Researchers Identify Biochemical Process Responsible for Producing Toxic Tau Comments, 22 February 2021, https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2021/02/22/researchers-identify-biochemical-process-responsible-for-producing-toxic-tau/
The University of California – San Francisco. “Exercise alters brain chemistry to protect aging synapses: Enhanced nerve transmission seen in older adults who remained active.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 January 2022. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220107100955.htm.