Russia (bbabo.net), - Many people today know that exercise is good for the brain. Moreover, the mouse running in the wheel generally has new neurons in the zone responsible for memory. This experiment at one time became a world sensation, because it refuted the old idea that nerve cells do not regenerate. New experiments have shown that in "sports" mice, the production of a specific protein increases, which contributes to the formation of new neurons.
These data have fundamentally changed approaches to aging, but especially to the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Simply put, the older a person is, the shorter his road to physical activity should be. Aerobic exercises are especially useful - brisk walking, jogging, cycling, skiing, skating, etc.
But scientists want to dig deeper, understand the mechanism, why and how specifically fitness helps the brain? Employees of Harvard University conducted a curious experiment: they put mice in a squirrel wheel, where they ran about 10 km a day, and a month later they transfused their blood plasma into mice that “lyed on the couch” for a month. In addition, non-sporting mice were transfused with blood from exactly such couch potato relatives. They then took tests that tested memory performance.
The effect surprised even scientists. In mice that received "sports" blood, the memory worked one third better than in rodents from the passive group. But this is not enough. It turned out that "sports" blood suppresses the work of a number of genes that stimulate inflammation. The authors also found that a month of physical exercise in the blood of mice increased the level of four proteins associated with immunity and the inflammatory response.
The clusterin protein suppresses inflammation especially strongly. The authors emphasize that this is not the only molecule that can improve memory and other cognitive functions. The work of the brain depends not only on whether some inflammation smolders in it or not, and thanks to the same sport, a whole range of various brain-stimulating compounds appear in the blood. Perhaps in the future it will be possible to create a molecular cocktail of "sports" molecules that will help the brain work and increase immunity, coping with a variety of inflammations. In the meantime, we need to help the brain with traditional means, including physical exercises. An article about the study was published in the prestigious journal Nature.
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