One Pill Makes You Smarter?

The Future: A Pill To Prevent Cognitive Decline?
Why not exercise?

For many years scientists believed that the adult human brain was not able to make new cross connections. Neurons were thought to stop functioning and die at a high rate as one aged. Altman, in 1964, hypothesized that vertebrates could create new neurons, but this did not become a prevailing view until much later. Neural plasticity, the ability of

Andrew Pieper, M.D., Ph.D.

the brain to change and respond to conditions and experiences was believed to get worse and worse each year. This is not the case. A number of studies have shown that the brain continues to be active, nerves can “learn” and cross connect actively, and aging doesn’t inevitably lead to a severe cognitive decline. Dementia also, is not inevitable. And exercise makes it significantly less likely.

Science Friday recently interviewed researcher Steven McKnight and reported on a new study that came up with what may be the first pill to lessen cognitive decline. The study was performed on rats and looked at the impact of P7C3 on the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. The authors conclusions were:

• P7C3 stabilizes mitochondrial membrane potential and inhibits newborn neuron apoptosis (programmed cell death)
• P7C3 corrects hippocampal deficits in mice devoid of adult neurogenesis
• P7C3 preserves cognitive capacity in aged rats

But, just as studies have shown that for many cases exercise can help with depression and sometimes be better than the “pills”, exercise has already been shown to be a good inhibitor in humans of both cognitive decline and dementia. The authors of the P7C3 study even noted that rats who perform voluntary exercise have a lower cognitive decline associated with aging. And social integration of the rats is another “environmental” factor associated with a decreased risk of cognitive decline.

While you are waiting for clinical trials and FDA approval of P7C3 and the “lose weight magic pill” you can take action today. Besides, the active ingredient of the pill already has a patent pending. So, get out there and exercise. Exercise should be a life long activity. If you find as you age that you can no longer do the same exercise you were doing before, it isn’t hard to find other activities to substitute. Run, walk, swim, bike, elliptical, rowing machine are all fine ways to get aerobic exercise. Body weight exercise, dumbbells, or machines all work well for strength training. The exercise recommendation is:

30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise – 5 days per week
(or 20 minutes vigorous aerobic exercise – 3 days per week)
2 days of strength training each week

Related:

What Made The Brain Get Bigger: Exercise and Evolution

References:

Altman J. Are new neurons formed in the brains of adult mammals? Science. 1962 Mar 30;135:1127-8.

He XZ, Baker DW. Body mass index, physical activity, and the risk of decline in overall health and physical functioning in late middle age. Am J Public Health. 2

Laurin D, Verreault R, Lindsay J, MacPherson K, Rockwood K. Physical activity and risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in elderly persons. Arch Neurol. 2001;58(3):498-504

McKnight, S.L., Pieper, A.A., Ready, J.M., DeBrabander, J. July 2010. Proneurogenic compounds. U.S. patent 2010/020681.

Piepersend A, Xie S, Capota E, et. al. Discovery of a Proneurogenic, Neuroprotective Chemical. ell, Volume 142, Issue 1, 39-51, 9 July 2010 10.1016/j.cell.2010.06.018

Strawbridge WJ, Deleger S, Roberts RE, Kaplan GA. Physical activity reduces the risk of subsequent depression for older adults. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;156(4):328-334.

Smith et. al. Aerobic Exercise and Neurocognitive Performance: A Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Psychosom. Med. 2010;72:239-252.

van Praag, H., Kempermann, G., and Gage, F.H. (1999). Running increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the adult mouse dentate gyrus. Nat. Neurosci. 2, 266–270.

Yaffe K, Barnes D, Nevitt M, Lui LY, Covinsky K. A prospective study of physical activity and cognitive decline in elderly women: women who walk. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161(14):1703-1708.

Tagged as: Brain, Exercise, Science