Latest news with #MarissaGogniat
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sitting Could Be Shrinking Your Brain (And Exercise May Not Help)
Sitting might be a comfortable and convenient way to spend much of your day, but a new study of older adults suggests it can lead to brain shrinkage and cognitive issues, irrespective of how much exercise you're managing to fit in. The research counters the idea that periods of sitting can be balanced out by periods of being active, at least when it comes to brain health in people aged 50 or above. The study researchers, from Vanderbilt University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Seoul National University, think that too much sitting or lying down (known as sedentary behavior) can impact the brain and increase the risk of different types of dementia later in life, including Alzheimer's disease. "Reducing your risk for Alzheimer's disease is not just about working out once a day," says neurologist Marissa Gogniat, from the University of Pittsburgh. "Minimizing the time spent sitting, even if you do exercise daily, reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease." The researchers recruited 404 volunteers, tracking their activity levels with wearables over the course of a week. Then, over the next seven years, cognitive tests and brain scans were used to assess their brain health. Even though 87 percent of the volunteers were meeting the recommended weekly guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, those who sat more overall showed worse cognition. They also showed more signs of neurodegeneration – including a faster thinning of the hippocampus, a part of the brain crucial to memory function and one of the first areas to show damage from Alzheimer's. The association wasn't huge, and doesn't prove direct cause and effect, but it was noticeable: spending more time sitting seems to age the brain faster, and reducing that amount of time, rather than just exercising more, appears to be the best antidote. Stronger associations were found in those already at a higher genetic risk of Alzheimer's, the data shows. "This research highlights the importance of reducing sitting time, particularly among aging adults at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease," says neurologist Angela Jefferson, from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "It is critical to our brain health to take breaks from sitting throughout the day and move around to increase our active time." Of course, these findings aren't a reason to give up more vigorous exercise. We know that being active does wonders for our physical and mental health, and even small amounts of exercise can keep the brain sharp. What's most important here is that extra hours sitting down were linked to certain kinds of wear and tear in the brain. This isn't the first time that sedentary behavior has been linked with dementia and Alzheimer's, but it's another important and comprehensive set of data that researchers and health professionals can draw on. "It is critical to study lifestyle choices and the impact they have on brain health as we age," says Jefferson. The research has been published in Alzheimer's & Dementia. Want to Live to 100? These Four Habits Might Help Get You There. Common Energy Drink Additive Could Be Fueling Growth in Leukemia Yellow Fever Resurgence Could Make COVID Look 'Pale' by Comparison
Medical News Today
19-05-2025
- Health
- Medical News Today
Alzheimer's: Minimizing time spent sitting may help lower risk
Written by Corrie Pelc on May 19, 2025 — Fact checked by Amanda Ward Sedentary time may negate the benefits of exercise, according to research. ThePast studies show that certain lifestyle factors, such as exercising regularly, may help lower a person's risk for Alzheimer's disease. A new study says that older adults who spend more time sedentary may be at a higher risk for lower cognition and brain shrinkage in areas linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease, no matter how much they exercised. The study adds to evidence that being sedentary is more detrimental to health than not exercising often enough. 'There are no current treatments that cure Alzheimer's disease,' Marissa A. Gogniat, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told Medical News Today. 'Therefore, modifiable health factors that may prevent Alzheimer's disease are of great interest and need.' Gogniat is the lead author of a new study, which says that older adults who spend more time sedentary — such as sitting or lying down — may be at a higher risk for lower cognition and brain shrinkage in areas linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease, no matter how much they exercised. Study participants were directed to wear an activity-monitoring watch — called a triaxial accelerometer — for 24 hours a day for one week, and were also given neuropsychological assessment and brain MRI scans over a seven-year period. 'We know a lot about the benefits over physical activity as a preventative measure for Alzheimer's disease and this was my main area of study for most of my career,' Gogniat said. 'I started looking at the 24-hour period of activity and noticed that people also spend a lot of time sitting. I was curious to better understand the independent contribution of sitting to risk for Alzheimer's disease,' she said. Upon analysis, researchers found that participants who spent more time being sedentary were at a higher risk for experiencing cognitive decline and neurodegenerative changes, such as lower hippocampal volume, regardless of how much they exercised. 'This is significant because the common thought has always been that if you exercise regularly, it doesn't really matter what else that you do,' Gogniat explained. 'This study showed that even after accounting for how physically active people were, sedentary behavior was still predicting cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.' Additionally, the scientists discovered that these findings were strongest in study participants who carried the APOE-e4 allele , which is a known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. 'We examined whether the association between sedentary behavior, brain health, and cognition was impacted by whether someone was an APOE4 carrier,' Gogniat detailed. 'Many of the observed associations linking greater sedentary time with brain health and cognitive outcomes were present in APOE4 carriers, but not in non-carriers, suggesting that increased sedentary [behavior] may be especially harmful for people at increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.' — Marissa A. Gogniat, PhD MNT spoke with Constance Katsafanas, DO, neurologist at the Marcus Neuroscience Institute and program director of the Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine's Neurology Residency Program, about this study. Katsafanas commented that while the study's sample size was small, the results suggest that it's not just activity, but minimizing time spent sitting, that could affect cognition as we age. 'Other studies have looked at similar things before. There are studies about people who are more sedentary having smaller cortical thickness and worse episodic memory, for instance,' she continued. 'But this one looked in a slightly different direction as well, specifically seeing if these effects persisted in the face of the patients having the weekly physical activity recommended by the CDC — 87% of the patients in this study accomplished the amount and intensity of weekly physical activity recommended by the CDC — so it adds a new angle to the conversation.' — Constance Katsafanas, DO 'I'd like to see if the results are reproducible, that is, if other studies find similar results,' Katsafanas added. 'I'd also like to see studies that track activity vs. time spent sedentary for the duration of the study. This study recorded the level of activity over a week, and the patients were then followed over seven years. I'd like to see the level of activity tracked for the duration of the study.' For readers who want to learn how to move more and become less sedentary during the day, MNT asked Sanjula Dhillon Singh, MD, PhD, MSc (Oxon), instructor of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and principal Investigator of the Brain Care Labs, for her top tips. 'The good news? If sitting too long is a risk factor, it's one we can do something about. Standing up, moving more, and breaking up long stretches of sitting might be some of the easiest ways to protect your brain as you age.' — Dhillon Singh, MD, PhD, MSc (Oxon) Singh said readers don't need a fancy gym membership to make a difference and offered these simple steps to help lower their daily sedentary time: Set a timer to stand up and stretch every 30-60 minutes if you are sitting. Take calls while walking or pace around the house during conversations. Make it social — invite a friend or loved one for a walk or join a virtual movement class. 'Doctors often ask patients how active they are — but rarely how many hours a day they spend sitting,' Singh said. 'This study suggests maybe doctors should be asking both of these questions! Even if you're hitting your step goals or going to the gym, spending too much of the day sitting may still be quietly harming your brain.' 'There's actually so much we can do to take good care (of) our brains and lower our risks of developing dementia — especially since about 45% of dementia cases may be preventable by addressing modifiable risk factors. And this research suggests that it is not just about exercising more — it's also about sitting less,' she added.
