Non-drug treatment improves brain.
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Non-drug treatment (exercise and occupational therapy) improves brain blood flow in MCIA team led by Seigo Nakano, M.D., Ph.D., at the Fifth Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan evaluated the effects of a non-drug therapy on regional cerebral blood flow in amnestic MCI (MCI with memory loss only) among seniors living in the community.
“I was particularly motivated to examine nondrug therapy to prevent further increases in medical expenses as Japanese society is aging at an extremely rapid pace,” Nakano said.
The scientists evaluated 32 amnestic MCI subjects aged 65 years or above in Ajimu, Japan. Eighteen participants received nonpharmacological interventions, and 14 control subjects did not. The intervention included occupational therapy, which was planning and doing simple tasks, and aerobic exercise of climbing up and down a step. Specifically, those in the intervention group helped with the renovation of an old building. During the course of the project, they did planning and were assigned to simple tasks. They also decided the menu for lunch, did shopping and cooked the meal. The seniors in the intervention group did these tasks once a week from November 2004 to November 2005.
All participants were given tests of memory, attention, verbal fluency, and other measures of mental functioning before and after the intervention; regional cerebral blood flow was measured using SPECT. On the baseline SPECT study, there was no significance between intervention and control groups. After one year of follow-up, the cognitive functions and regional cerebral blood flow were revaluated.
The researchers found that in the participants with MCI who received the therapy, the memory score and verbal fluency score after the therapy were significantly better compared to those who did not receive the therapy. According to the researchers, the cerebral blood flow of all participants before the intervention showed a pattern typically seen in early Alzheimer’s; the blood flow in areas called the posterior cingulate gyri, precuneus and parietal lobules was low. One year later, the researchers observed that, in those who received the therapy, the overall area with low blood flow became smaller and the blood flow in areas usually low in Alzheimer’s was improved.
“In people with amnestic MCI, our nondrug therapy may improve cerebral blood flow in areas that usually decrease in Alzheimer’s,” Nakano said. “This suggests possible effectiveness in preventing them from progressing to Alzheimer’s, which deserves further study.”
“I was particularly motivated to examine nondrug therapy to prevent further increases in medical expenses as Japanese society is aging at an extremely rapid pace,” Nakano said.
The scientists evaluated 32 amnestic MCI subjects aged 65 years or above in Ajimu, Japan. Eighteen participants received nonpharmacological interventions, and 14 control subjects did not. The intervention included occupational therapy, which was planning and doing simple tasks, and aerobic exercise of climbing up and down a step. Specifically, those in the intervention group helped with the renovation of an old building. During the course of the project, they did planning and were assigned to simple tasks. They also decided the menu for lunch, did shopping and cooked the meal. The seniors in the intervention group did these tasks once a week from November 2004 to November 2005.
All participants were given tests of memory, attention, verbal fluency, and other measures of mental functioning before and after the intervention; regional cerebral blood flow was measured using SPECT. On the baseline SPECT study, there was no significance between intervention and control groups. After one year of follow-up, the cognitive functions and regional cerebral blood flow were revaluated.
The researchers found that in the participants with MCI who received the therapy, the memory score and verbal fluency score after the therapy were significantly better compared to those who did not receive the therapy. According to the researchers, the cerebral blood flow of all participants before the intervention showed a pattern typically seen in early Alzheimer’s; the blood flow in areas called the posterior cingulate gyri, precuneus and parietal lobules was low. One year later, the researchers observed that, in those who received the therapy, the overall area with low blood flow became smaller and the blood flow in areas usually low in Alzheimer’s was improved.
“In people with amnestic MCI, our nondrug therapy may improve cerebral blood flow in areas that usually decrease in Alzheimer’s,” Nakano said. “This suggests possible effectiveness in preventing them from progressing to Alzheimer’s, which deserves further study.”
posted by Valery Yermalitsky at
7:31 AM
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