PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Okonkwo, Ozioma C.
AU  - Schultz, Stephanie A.
AU  - Oh, Jennifer M.
AU  - Larson, Jordan
AU  - Edwards, Dorothy
AU  - Cook, Dane
AU  - Koscik, Rebecca
AU  - Gallagher, Catherine L.
AU  - Dowling, N.M.
AU  - Carlsson, Cynthia M.
AU  - Bendlin, Barbara B.
AU  - LaRue, Asenath
AU  - Rowley, Howard A.
AU  - Christian, Brad T.
AU  - Asthana, Sanjay
AU  - Hermann, Bruce P.
AU  - Johnson, Sterling C.
AU  - Sager, Mark A.
TI  - Physical activity attenuates age-related biomarker alterations in preclinical AD
AID  - 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000964
DP  - 2014 Nov 04
TA  - Neurology
PG  - 1753--1760
VI  - 83
IP  - 19
4099  - http://n.neurology.org/content/83/19/1753.short
4100  - http://n.neurology.org/content/83/19/1753.full
SO  - Neurology2014 Nov 04; 83
AB  - Objective: To examine whether engagement in physical activity might favorably alter the age-dependent evolution of Alzheimer disease (AD)-related brain and cognitive changes in a cohort of at-risk, late-middle-aged adults.Methods: Three hundred seventeen enrollees in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention underwent T1 MRI; a subset also underwent 11C-Pittsburgh compound B–PET (n = 186) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose–PET (n = 152) imaging. Participants' responses on a self-report measure of current physical activity were used to classify them as either physically active or physically inactive based on American Heart Association guidelines. They also completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Covariate-adjusted regression analyses were used to test whether the adverse effect of age on imaging and cognitive biomarkers was modified by physical activity.Results: There were significant age × physical activity interactions for β-amyloid burden (p = 0.014), glucose metabolism (p = 0.015), and hippocampal volume (p = 0.025) such that, with advancing age, physically active individuals exhibited a lesser degree of biomarker alterations compared with the physically inactive. Similar age × physical activity interactions were also observed on cognitive domains of Immediate Memory (p = 0.042) and Visuospatial Ability (p = 0.016). In addition, the physically active group had higher scores on Speed and Flexibility (p = 0.002) compared with the inactive group.Conclusions: In a middle-aged, at-risk cohort, a physically active lifestyle is associated with an attenuation of the deleterious influence of age on key biomarkers of AD pathophysiology. However, because our observational, cross-sectional design cannot establish causality, randomized controlled trials/longitudinal studies will be necessary for determining whether midlife participation in structured physical exercise forestalls the development of AD and related disorders in later life.Aβ=β-amyloid; Aβi=β-amyloid indeterminate; AD=Alzheimer disease; DVR=distribution volume ratio; FDG=18F-fluorodeoxyglucose; FH=parental family history; MET=metabolic equivalent; MNI=Montreal Neurological Institute; PCC=posterior cingulate cortex; PiB=11C-Pittsburgh compound B; WRAP=Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention