Connect with us

NewsMakers

Older people in good shape have fitter brains

Seventy- to eighty-year-olds who train for better fitness are better at solving cognitive tasks and are less likely to suffer cognitive impairment.

Published

on

“Our findings suggest that being fit can protect against mild cognitive impairment in older people,” says Ekaterina Zotcheva.

Just before Christmas, Zotcheva defended her doctoral dissertation on exercise and brain health at the  Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU. The day before the defence, the last study for her doctoral degree was published in the highly regarded Sports Medicine journal.

The article is just one of three recent research articles from NTNU that show how important it is for the brain to stay in good physical shape as you get older. Common to all three articles is that they are based on data from the world’s largest training study for older adults, the Generation 100 study from the Cardiac Exercise Research Group.

Dementia risk

“The Generation 100 study has been going on for almost ten years now. After the study participants had been exercising for five years, we tested the cognitive function of almost 1000 of them.”

“The men and women who had maintained or increased their physical fitness during the study had better brain health than those whose fitness had declined over the five years,” says Zotcheva.

The cognitive test that the participants took is the same one that is often used to check whether people are at risk of developing dementia.

The test assesses short-term memory, execution function and the ability to orient oneself in time and space. Scoring below a certain number indicates a risk of mild cognitive impairment.

“We know that mild cognitive impairment can lead to dementia for some individuals. The greater the increase in a participant’s fitness level during the five years of the study, the lower their probability was of developing mild cognitive impairment,” says Zotcheva.

Better at problem solving

Good conditioning appears to be an important prerequisite for good brain function in the elderly in the other two research articles as well. In both of these studies, the researchers tested the brain health of more than 100 of the participants in the Generation 100 study at start-up and after one, three and five years of training.

“Participants who were in good shape, both when the study started and later in the study, had a faster reaction time. The ones who improved their fitness level gained a somewhat better working memory,” says NTNU professor Asta Håberg.

The ability to solve cognitive problems was tested using the web-based Memoro platform, which Håberg developed in collaboration with neuropsychologist Tor Ivar Hansen.

Less brain atrophy

Håberg has been involved in the work with all three recent research articles. In the third study, the researchers performed MRI scans of the participants’ brains to see how the brain volume and thickness of the cerebral cortex changed throughout the study. Here, too, the most energetic participants came out best.

“Participants who were in good shape when the study started had a thicker cerebral cortex after one, three and five years, as compared with those who had lower maximum oxygen uptake. But we didn’t find any effect from increasing fitness during the study,” says Håberg.

The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain and is important for several important brain functions, such as attention, ability to make choices, working memory, abstract thinking and memory. This part of the brain becomes thinner with age, and thinning of the cerebral cortex in different areas is linked to different types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.

Fitness more important than type of exercise

All 70- to 77-year-olds in Trondheim were invited to the Generation 100 study in 2012. Those who agreed to participate were randomly assigned to five years of exercise of various kinds. One group would primarily do high intensity intervals, a second group would mainly go for walks or do other exercise with moderate intensity, and the last group would try to follow the activity recommendations of the health authorities to be physically active for at least 150 minutes each week.

The first two groups were followed up most closely by the researchers, and were offered two organized training sessions each week. The NTNU researchers looked beyond the connection between fitness and brain health and also investigated whether the type of training follow-up that participants received made a difference.

“Our results show that organized training follow-up may have given older men, but not older women, better cognitive function and lowered the probability of mild cognitive impairments. But all in all, it seems that the most important thing is that you actually train in a way that increases your fitness, regardless of whether you get organized help to be physically active or not,” says Zotcheva.

Less brain atrophy than expected

“In the groups that received follow-up with high-intensity training and training with moderate intensity, respectively, we found somewhat greater loss of brain volume in deep areas of the brain than among those who trained themselves. But we have to emphasize that everyone in the Generation 100 study – regardless of the form of exercise they did – had less brain loss than expected for people in their 70s. The group that trained on their own without organized follow-up had the least shrinkage in the hippocampus and thalamus,” Håberg says.

The training follow-up in Generation 100 was not decisive for the participants’ ability to solve cognitive tasks.

“The groups that were able to attend organized training didn’t perform any better than the group that trained on their own on various tasks, such as remembering where an object is located, memorizing words, processing information quickly or planning,” says Håberg.

Maintained good cognitive function

“It’s still worth noting that the 70-77-year-old participants on average had the same cognitive abilities after five years as at start-up, and that during the study period they even improved on some of the tests. The results show that being in good shape like the Generation 100 participants were, is important for maintaining good brain function,” Håberg says.

The training effect thus seems to be greatest for people who enter retirement age in good shape, and exercise that improves fitness can provide further benefits. So how should the elderly train to get in better shape?

“Several paths can lead to that goal, and the most important factor is to find an activity you enjoy and can continue with over time. In order to maintain or increase your fitness, you should in any case exercise regularly in a way that gets you out of breath and sweaty,” says Zotcheva.

Zest Magazine accepts contributions promoting everything about living the good life (and how to make this so). C'mon, give us a yell.

NewsMakers

Cannabidiol therapy could reduce symptoms in autistic children and teenagers

The use of cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extract can lead to meaningful benefits and improve the behaviour of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

Published

on

New research presented at the 2025 European Congress of Psychiatry reveals that the use of cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extract can lead to meaningful benefits and improve the behaviour of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD affects approximately 1 in 100 children around the world and symptoms can include difficulty interpreting language, difficulty expressing emotions, and repetitive behaviour and routines.1,2 

The meta-analysis included randomised, placebo-controlled trials on the efficacy or safety of CBD cannabis extracts in children and adolescents with ASD. Three studies were used in total with 276 participants with a mean age of 10.5, ranging in age from 5 to 21. The dosage of CBD cannabis extract started at 1 mg/kg per day and was titrated up to 10 mg/kg.  

Key findings from the study include: 

  • CBD cannabis extract use shows moderate improvements in social responsiveness and small yet notable reductions in disruptive behaviours.
  • CBD cannabis extract significantly enhanced social responsiveness and reduced disruptive behaviour.
  • The use of CBD cannabis extract has a favourable safety profile as it did not increase adverse events compared to placebo  
  • There were no significant differences between adverse events in CBD cannabis extract versus placebo  

Lara Cappelletti Beneti Branco, Lead Investigator, São Camilo University Center, University of São Paulo, said: “The global population prevalence of ASD diagnosis amongst children and adolescents is growing, but many treatment pathways are not effective. It is promising to see the effect of CBD cannabis extract on the study participants. However, there still needs to be considerable focus on further research with larger trials to clarify its efficacy and safety in managing ASD.” 

Professor Geert Dom, EPA President, said: “ASD can be extremely frustrating for all involved; parents of children and adolescents with the disorder, the treating clinicians and of course the children and adolescents themselves. A large part of this frustration is down to finding a viable treatment option that works to reduce symptoms. It is with delight that we see the results of this meta-analysis and we hope to see further research into this so we can move towards a solution to the unmet need within this community”.  

Continue Reading

NewsMakers

Relaxation techniques may help lower high blood pressure — at least in the short term

Most relaxation techniques seemed to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure for people with high blood pressure after 3 or fewer months. The most commonly included interventions were breath control (13 studies), yoga/tai chi (11), biofeedback (8), progressive muscle relaxation (7), and music (7).

Published

on

Relaxation techniques may help lower high blood pressure—at least in the short term—but the longer term effects are unclear, finds a pooled data analysis of the existing research published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.

And the risk of bias in the existing body of research means that further, more rigorously designed and longer studies are needed to confirm whether these techniques have a constructive role in the treatment of high blood pressure, conclude the researchers.

High blood pressure affects around a third of 30-79 year olds and is one of the leading attributable causes of deaths in both men and women, note the researchers. While drugs are available to treat the condition, adherence to them is poor, generating interest in alternative approaches, such as relaxation techniques, to reduce one of the major risk factors for high blood pressure—high stress levels. But it’s far from clear which of these methods, which can include breath control, mindfulness, yoga, Tai Chi, and biofeedback, among others, might be most effective.

To build on the evidence base, the researchers scoured research databases for studies, published in English up to February 2024 that looked at the potential impact of relaxation techniques on high blood pressure (140/90 mm Hg and above) and elevated blood pressure (120/80 mm Hg and above). They included 182 studies, 166 of which looked at high blood pressure, and 16 of which looked at elevated blood pressure (pre-hypertension).

Where possible, the researchers deployed network meta analysis, a statistical technique used to simultaneously compare the effects of several different ‘treatments’.

The pooled results of 54 studies showed that most relaxation techniques seemed to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure for people with high blood pressure after 3 or fewer months. The most commonly included interventions were breath control (13 studies), yoga/tai chi (11), biofeedback (8), progressive muscle relaxation (7), and music (7).

Compared with no intervention, breath control achieved a reduction of 6.65 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (the first and higher number in a blood pressure reading), meditation a drop of 7.71 mm Hg, meditative movement, such as tai chi and yoga, a drop of 9.58 mm Hg, and mindfulness a drop of 9.90 mm Hg.

Music was also associated with a fall of 6.61 mm Hg, progressive muscle relaxation with a fall of 7.46 mm Hg, and psychotherapy with a reduction of 9.83 mm Hg. Combined techniques were associated with a drop of 6.78 mm Hg in blood pressure. 

There was no statistical evidence of effectiveness for any technique after 3 to 12 months and the certainty of the evidence was very low. The most commonly included techniques at this timepoint were biofeedback (7 studies), yoga/tai chi (4), and progressive muscle relaxation (4).

Very few studies included long term follow up of 12 months or more, and of the 3 included in the network analysis, the results showed that compared with no treatment autogenic (self directed) training might lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but the certainty of the evidence was low. 

There was no statistical evidence of effectiveness for other treatments assessed at this time point, including biofeedback, progressive muscle relaxation, and techniques involving a combined approach.

Limited data were available for elevated blood pressure: only two studies compared relaxation techniques with no treatment/usual care and the effects on systolic blood pressure were small. 

The researchers note that the descriptions of relaxation interventions were sometimes incomplete or sparse, there were few data on costs and cost effectiveness, and most of the included studies didn’t report information on the risk of cardiovascular disease/events/deaths. 

But they suggest: “The results of our systematic review and network meta-analysis indicate that relaxation or stress management techniques might result in meaningful reductions in blood pressure at up to three months of follow-up.” 

But they caution: “Uncertainty exists about this effect, however, because of the risk of bias in the primary studies, the potential for publication bias in this area, and imprecision in the effect estimates, meaning that the observed changes in blood pressure might be too small to affect cardiovascular or cerebrovascular outcomes.” 

And they add: “Hypertension is a chronic condition, likely to require long term drug treatments or behavioural changes. As such, interventions that are used for a brief period, or provide only short term benefits, are unlikely to be clinically useful. 

“Too few studies exist, however, to assess whether the beneficial effects of relaxation are maintained when the techniques are practised for longer than three months. Future studies must clearly report whether participants were still using relaxation methods at the time of the outcome assessment, with details on adherence to the relaxation schedule. These factors might strongly influence the effectiveness of the different relaxation and stress management techniques.” 

Continue Reading

NewsMakers

Poor oral health linked with body pain and migraines in women

Findings highlight the importance of good oral health to potentially mitigate pain and improve overall wellbeing, prompting further exploration into the role of oral microbiota in chronic unexplained pain conditions. This includes fibromyalgia, a condition experienced by 67 percent of the study participants.

Published

on

New research from the University of Sydney has revealed poor oral health is significantly associated with higher instances of migraines, abdominal and body pain in women. 

Published in Frontiers in Pain Research, the world-first study identified specific oral microbes correlated with certain pain conditions, suggesting a potential relationship between the oral microbiome and the nervous system.   

The findings highlight the importance of good oral health to potentially mitigate pain and improve overall wellbeing, prompting further exploration into the role of oral microbiota in chronic unexplained pain conditions. This includes fibromyalgia, a condition experienced by 67 percent of the study participants. 

“This is the first study to investigate oral health, oral microbiota and pain commonly experienced in women with fibromyalgia, with our study showing a clear and significant association between poor oral health and pain,” said lead investigator Associate Professor Joanna Harnett from the Faculty of Medicine and Health. 

“Our findings are particularly important to fibromyalgia which, despite being a common rheumatological condition, is often underrecognised,” said first author and PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine and HealthSharon Erdrich.  

“Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain, and headaches including headaches, as well as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive problems.” 

The research examined associations between self-reported oral health, the oral microbiome, and various pain presentations in a group of New Zealand women with and without fibromyalgia.   

Oral health was assessed using the WHO oral health questionnaire and evaluated against body pain, headaches, migraines, and abdominal pain using validated instruments, including the Short-form 36 (which measures quality of life), the International Headache Society headache survey and the functional bowel disorder severity index. Strong associations were evident between oral health scores and pain and each of these were associated with specific microbes found in the mouth, which were assessed using advanced genomic technology.   

Participants with the poorest oral health were more likely to suffer from higher pain scores: 60 percent were more likely to experience moderate to severe body pain, and 49 percent were more likely to experience migraine headaches. Lower oral health was a statistically significant predictor of frequent and chronic migraine. 

Four oral microbial species from the Dialister, Fusobacterium, Parvimonas and Solobacterium genera were significantly associated with pain after age, BMI and added dietary sugars were considered.   

A weak but significant inverse correlation with diet quality and oral health was also found, though the researchers note this has yet to be investigated in detail. 

The Australian Dental Association recommends regular oral hygiene appointments and dental health checks, in addition to twice daily teeth brushing and flossing. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Like Us On Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Most Popular

Copyright ©FRINGE PUBLISHING. All rights reserved.