Exercise keeps Alzheimer's at bay: Walking releases chemical which helps keep the brain healthy
- - Walking could hold key to slowing onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
- - Chemical produced by body during exercise could be given as injection
By JENNY HOPE
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A rigorous walk could hold the key to slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in later life.
A natural chemical produced by the body during exercise could one day be given as an injection to inhibit the diseases, researchers say.
The protein, called FNDC5, is produced by muscular exertion and is released into the bloodstream as a hormone called irisin.
A rigorous walk could hold the key to slowing the onset of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in later life
They hope to use it to keep the neurons in the human brain healthy while also making new ones.
‘What is exciting is that a natural substance can be given in the bloodstream that can mimic some of the effects of endurance exercise on the brain,’ said professor Bruce Spiegelman, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
‘Our results indicate that FNDC5/irisin has the ability to control a very important neuro-protective pathway in the brain.’
In the study, laboratory mice regularly ran on a wheel for 30 days. The exercise spurred a rise in the FNDC5 protein. That in turn increased a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic protein (BDNF) in a part of the brain involved in learning and memory.
A natural chemical produced by the body during exercise could one day be given as an injection to inhibit the diseases, researchers say
They used a harmless virus to deliver the protein to mice through the bloodstream, in hopes the FNDC5 could reach the brain and raise BDNF production.
Seven days later, they examined the mouse brains and observed a significant increase in BDNF in the hippocampus area of the brain.
Professor Spiegelman says more research is needed and the next step is to develop a stable form of irisin.
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