• Researchers are investigating ways to help improve cognitive function and potentially decrease dementia risk.
• One in three seniors dies from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and it kills more people than breast and prostate cancers combined.
• Now a new study has found evidence that one year of aerobic exercise training improved cardiorespiratory fitness, cerebral blood flow regulation, and memory function in people with mild cognitive impairment.

Moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise may benefit adults with mild cognitive impairment, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Finding ways to help people with mild cognition is important to potentially combat rising cases of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

The study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, found evidence that one year of aerobic exercise training improved cardiorespiratory fitness, cerebral blood flow regulation, and memory function in people with mild cognitive impairment.

“Aerobic exercise is very important for improving both vascular function and brain function,” said Rong Zhang, PhD, a professor of neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, a research scientist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, and the study’s principal investigator. “The brain is a unique organ. It needs constant blood flow and oxygen supply.”

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are among the nation’s biggest public health threats.

While this study didn’t look at combating Alzheimer’s disease directly, it looked at helping people with mild cognitive impairment. Mild cognitive impairment has been shown to increase the risk of developing dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease or other neurological conditions.

Experts have been looking for ways to prevent all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. Currently, there is no cure.

Research into this subject has become more pressing as America’s population is aging rapidly. More than 10,000 people turn 65 years old each day.

One in three seniors dies from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, and it kills more people than breast and prostate cancers combined. More than 6 million people over the age of 65 in the United States live with Alzheimer’s disease, a figure that is expected to balloon to almost 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

During the pandemic, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related deaths rose 16 percent

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