Scientists find link between exercise and dementia reduction

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Dementia has recently been identified as Australia’s biggest killer. Now a new study has found vigorous exercise can reduce your risk of developing dementia later in life. For the first time scientists have linked exercise with a particular protein in the blood associated with brain health.

Transcript

00:00Colleen Davidson runs, swims and does weight training.

00:06The 53-year-old knows physical activity is one of the ways to reduce her risk of developing dementia.

00:14I'm working towards getting where I need to be and I think that's positive,

00:18just taking one step at a time, trying to make those positive changes.

00:23She's part of a study where scientists have, for the first time,

00:28been able to work out the impact exercise is having on the levels of a particular protein in the blood, known as GFAP.

00:38Which is linked probably with the level of inflammation in your brain,

00:42so a good marker for your general brain health.

00:46The more vigorous the exercise, like swimming and running, the bigger the reduction in the damaging protein.

00:53This finding is really significant because it shows for the first time how a blood based biomarker that's indicative of dementia risk

01:02is associated with a really key and accessible modifiable risk factor.

01:07But the association is less for people who have the APOE4 gene, like actor Chris Hemsworth,

01:14the strongest genetic risk factor for dementia.

01:17You shouldn't look at genes as determining your fate.

01:20Genes should be like, I've got this gene, now I'm going to go look at what are the best risk factors for me to address

01:25so I can reduce my risk of dementia over time.

01:27This study adds to growing evidence that almost half dementia cases could be prevented

01:33by addressing lifestyle factors like sleep, social engagement and physical activity.

01:40With dementia now the leading cause of death in Australia,

01:44a focus on prevention will be key to reducing the burden of the disease.

01:49of conditions that change.

01:51of the death of those who have been determined by quienes of the disease

01:55the disease has been confirmed and our disease is weak and has been tested.

01:58of saying that.

01:59It's also true that you have to be the best risk factors of your body.

02:01of saying that you have to learn how to be the impact of the disease.

02:06of saying that you have had to be the most most at all when the disease is to go into it.

02:08of saying that you have to be the most difficult problem.

02:10of saying that you can do the next step to the previous exercise.

02:12of doing this.

02:14of suggesting that you have to be the perfect risk factors

02:16that you have to be the most vulnerable.

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