Exercise is a good medicine, through physical exercise, you can strengthen the body, but also prolong life. However, when people talk about the benefits of exercise, they often think only of effects such as weight control or muscle gain. However, practical observational studies have long confirmed that exercise also makes people feel good and enhance their sense of well-being. How is this effect obtained? Does exercise affect the brain? Yes, scientists at Stanford University, by culturing marathon mice, discovered detailed mechanisms by which exercise affects brain activity. Let's now introduce the main points of the study.
The latest issue of the journal Nature published a paper by a research team from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The scientists cultivated 2 kinds of mice, 1 marathon mouse that kept running, and 1 kind of sedentary mouse with little activity. Transfer the blood of marathon mice to sedentary mice. If it was found that the neuroinflammation in sedentary mice decreased, cognitive performance also improved. This proves that the blood after exercise can not only inhibit inflammation, but also affect brain function.
The research process of scientists is full of fun. Because mice like to run, place running wheels in the cage, and mice can run 4 to 6 miles per night. Instead, when the running wheel is locked, the mouse can only wander around the cage. After such training, marathon mice were trained, and the metabolic status of such mice was equivalent to that of young people around 25 years old in humans. After 1 month of training, the number of neurons and other cells in the brains of marathon mice increased significantly.
After successful training of marathon mice, blood is collected every 3 days and injected into sedentary mice, and the amount of injection each time is equivalent to 7% to 8% of the total blood volume of the mice. At the same time, the blood of the sedentary mice is drawn and injected into the sedentary mice for control observation. It was found that sedentary mice that received blood from marathon mice had more cells that could produce neurons that could produce new neurons in the hippocampus. By analyzing gene activation in the hippocampus, it was found that 250 genes are closely related to the inflammatory process. Sedentary mice that received blood from marathon mice had lower levels of neuroinflammation.
The scientists examined the levels of protein in the blood of the mice, and the results showed that a protein called clusterin was found in higher levels in the blood of marathon mice. Clusterin is a complement inhibitor that binds to receptors on the surface of brain endothelial cells, which transmit inflammatory signals to the brain. Thus, clusterin has an anti-inflammatory effect, and after exercise, the level of clusterin in the blood increases, which inhibits inflammation and improves brain function.
The findings of Stanford scientists have important implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Because, previous studies have found that most patients with Alzheimer's disease have inflammation. In the study, the scientists recruited 20 pre-Alzheimer's disease subjects with mild cognitive impairment who, after a six-month aerobic exercise training, increased levels of clusterins in their blood. This suggests that if drugs that enhance or mimic clustering hormones can be found and that bind drugs to receptors on the surface of endothelial cells in the brain, it is possible to slow the progression of neurodegenerative lesions such as Alzheimer's disease.
You may feel a little disappointed to see this, the drug is still on the way, now what to do? You can learn marathon mice. By making the body active, you can increase the level of cluster hormones and achieve the effect of improving brain function. Speaking of exercise, let's introduce another study. Recently, a joint study by academics from Australia and Germany showed that the effectiveness of physical activity in improving health depends largely on the amount of exercise. Only moderate intensity and above exercise can increase the content of muscle mitochondria, which are the places of energy conversion inside cells and play a key role in a variety of important biological processes in the body. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a sports program according to the individual's physical condition. The usual recommendation is to exercise at least 5 times a week, with each exercise time of not less than 45 minutes, and the activity intensity is moderate or above aerobic exercise.
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Your health, my concern. Professionals observe health from a scientific and humanistic perspective, including a series of express reports, details, reminders, doubts, observations, opinions, historical stories, etc., with the content of the original works of the author Wei Hongling and the team. All forms of misappropriation and reproduction without permission will be refused, otherwise they will be prosecuted in accordance with relevant laws.