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Abstract
Objective To investigate the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and cognitive response to a short bout of high-intensity aerobic exercise in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Methods Participants were randomised to one of two testing schedules, completing either a standardised exercise test (group A) or a resting control condition (group B). Blood sampling and cognitive measures (visuospatial learning and memory, sustained attention and executive function) were collected at baseline (T1) and postintervention (T2). An additional measurement of study outcomes was collected after exercise (T3) in group B only.
Results 64 participants (female 53.2%, mean age 70.5±6.3 years) with MCI were recruited. From T1 to T2, serum BDNF (sBDNF) concentration increased in group A (n=35) (median (Md) 4564.61±IQR 5737.23 pg/mL to Md 5173.27±5997.54 pg/mL) and decreased in group B (Md 4593.74±9558.29 pg/mL to Md 3974.66±3668.22 pg/mL) (between-group difference p=0.024, effect size r=0.3). The control group made fewer errors on the sustained attention task compared with the exercise group (p=0.025). Measures of visuospatial learning and memory or executive function did not change significantly between groups.
Conclusion This study is the first to show that a short bout of high-intensity aerobic exercise increases peripheral sBDNF in a population with MCI. However, acute exercise did not improve cognitive performance.
- ageing
- blood
- brain
- exercise
- exercise physiology
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Footnotes
Collaborators Members of the NeuroExercise Study Group (in alphabetical order by name): Dr. Justine A. Aaronson, Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Dr. Vera Abeln, Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Germany; Dr. Jurgen A.H.R Claassen, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Dr. Robert F. Coen, Mercer’s Institute for Research on Ageing, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Dr. Damien Ferguson, Department of Neurology, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Prof. Roy P.C. Kessels, Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Prof. Romain Meeusen, Human Physiology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium; Prof. Christian Montag, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Germany and Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation/Center for Information in Medicine, and School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China; Dr Ross T. Murphy, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Prof. M. Cristina Polidori, Ageing Clinical Research, University Hospital of Cologne, Germany; Prof. Martin Reuter, University of Bonn, Department of Psychology and Center for Economics & Neuroscience, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Bonn, Germany; Marit Sanders, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Radboud Alzheimer Centre, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
Prof. Heiko K. Strüder, Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Germany; Tim Stuckenschneider, Institute of Movement and Neurosciences, German Sport University Cologne, Germany; Prof H.J. Thijssen, Department of Physiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Prof. Tobias Vogt, Institute for Professional Sport Education and Sport Qualifications, German Sport University Cologne, Germany; Prof. Bernd Weber, Department of Epileptology, University Hospital Bonn, Germany.
Contributors KED, EMG, BL, MOR and SS were involved in study conception and design. AK and BCM completed the laboratory analysis and assisted with BDNF analysis. CW advised and assisted on statistical analysis. KED and EMG drafted the manuscript with input from all authors on each version of the paper. All authors have approved the final version of this paper prior to submission.
Funding This study is part of the NeuroExercise project which has been supported by The EU Joint Programme–Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). Local funding was provided through the Health Research Board, Ireland.
Disclaimer The sponsors had no involvement in the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data or in writing of the report or decision to submit the paper for publication.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Obtained.
Ethics approval Research and Ethics Committees (REC): Tallaght Hospital/St James' Hospital Joint REC, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital REC, St Patrick’s University Hospital REC and St Vincent’s University Hospital REC.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data sharing statement Data are available upon reasonable request.