By Gretchen ReynoldsExercise may help change exercisers brains in surprising ways, according to a new study of physical activity and brain health. The study, which included both mice and people, found that exercise prompts the liver to pump out a little-known protein, and that chemically upping the levels of that protein in out-of-shape, elderly animals rejuvenates their brains and memories. The findings raise provocative questions about whether the brain benefits of exercise might someday be available in a capsule or syringe form essentially exercise in a pill.

We already have considerable evidence, of course, that physical activity protects brains and minds from some of the declines that otherwise accompany aging. In past rodent studies, animals that ran on wheels or treadmills produced more new neurons and learned and remembered better than sedentary mice or rats. Similarly, older people who took up walking for the sake of science added tissue volume in portions of their brains associated with memory. Even among younger people, those who were more fit than their peers tended to perform better on cognitive tests.

But many questions remain unanswered about how, at a cellular level, exercise remodels the brain and alters its function. Most researchers suspect that the process involves the release of a cascade of substances inside the brain and elsewhere in the body during and after exercise. These substances interact and ignite other biochemical reactions that ultimately change how the brain looks and works. But what the substances are, where they originate and how they meet and mingle has remained unclear.

So, for the new study, which was published this month in Science, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, decided to look inside the minds and bloodstreams of mice. In past research from the same lab, the scientists had infused blood from young mice into older ones and seen improvements in the aging animals thinking. It was like transferring a memory of youth through blood, says Saul Villeda, a professor at UCSF, who conducted the study with his colleagues Alana Horowitz, Xuelai Fan and others.

Those benefits were a result of the donor animals young age, though, not their exercise habits. The scientists suspected that exercise would spark additional changes in the bloodstream that might be transferable, whatever an animals years.

Intrigued, the scientists next set out to find what differed in the exercisers blood. Using sophisticated mass spectrometry and other techniques, they separated out and enumerated various proteins in the running animals blood that were not seen in similar profusion in blood from inactive mice.

Exercise may help change exercisers brains in surprising ways.

So, the researchers now employed genetic engineering to amplify the release of GPLD1 from the livers of old, inactive mice. Afterward, those animals performed almost like young mice on tests of learning and memory, and their brains teemed with far more newborn neurons than in other old mice. In effect, they gained the brain benefits of exercise without the effort of actually exercising.

To ensure that this reaction was not purely rodent-based, the scientists also checked blood drawn from elderly people. The older men and women who habitually walked for exercise showed higher levels of GPLD1 in their bloodstreams than those who did not.

The combined upshot of these findings seems to be that exercise improves brain health in part by prompting the liver to pump out extra amounts of GPLD1, Villeda says, although it is not yet clear how the protein then changes the brain. Subsequent experiments by the scientists showed that the protein probably does not breach the blood-brain barrier and act directly on the brain, Villeda says. Instead, it is likely to incite alterations in other tissues and cells elsewhere in the body. These tissues, in turn, produce yet more proteins that have effects on other tissues that eventually lead to direct changes to the neurotransmitters, genes and cells in the brain itself that undergird cognitive improvements.

Villeda believes that if further experiments show that GPLD1, in isolation, helps to initiate this molecular chain reaction, then it is at least conceivable that infusions of the substance might offer the brain benefits of exercise to people who are too frail or disabled for regular physical activity.

This experiment principally involved mice, though, not people, and does not tell us anything about the systemic effects of extra GPLD1, which in high amounts might be undesirable. More fundamentally, the findings highlight the pervasive, intricate, whole-body effects of exercise, with the liver, in this case, somehow changing minds and brains after workouts. At the moment, it is impossible to know if the same synchronized, interwoven processes all would occur in response to a GPLD1 exercise pill and, if not, whether it could be considered an exercise pill at all.

Villeda is quick to agree that pharmaceutical GPLD1, even if effective for brain health, would not recapitulate the benefits of exercise. There would be none of the usual fat burning, muscle building or cardiovascular improvements, he points out. But he hopes that, if future experiments in his lab with animals and people show consistent results, the substance might eventually help people who find moving difficult to think better.

Managing Parkinsons DiseaseBeing diagnosed with any health problem is taxing, but correctly understanding it is the key to dealing with a progressive, neurological condition. One such neurological condition is Parkinsons disease, first described by James Parkinsons 200 years ago. It is characterised by tremours, overall slowing, rigidity, falls, speech troubles, constipation and more.With research ongoing to find a permanent cure, there are many things one can routinely do to keep its multifaceted symptoms under control.On World Parkinsons Day, Dr Azad M Irani, Consultant Department of Neurology at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, shares some points that will help you fight the disease.

Educating Oneself About Their IllnessUnderstanding the disease is a key to successful management. Once diagnosed with Parkinsons, request your doctor for reliable sources of information. Avoid reading unreliable information online as it may often be untrue and stressful. Advice received during small talks with relatives and friends must also be counter-checked as it may often be untrue and add to unnecessary stress.

Treatment Compliance And Timely Follow-UpsOne must take medicines on time. Dont miss follow-up appointments. Dont adjust your own medication. These can be harmful.

Physical ActivityAn essential part of successful treatment is daily exercise and physiotherapy, as this can delay progression of symptoms significantly if done regularly. Adequate sleep, preventing constipation are very important to minimise symptoms. The significance of weight loss for those overweight-obese should be emphasised. Continuing household chores, taking walks, and yoga help delay progression of symptoms significantly.

Healthy LifestyleKeeping oneself fit with a nutritious diet, sleeping on time, and daily meditation to relax calm a worried mind.

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Scientists find the secret ingredient to keep brain healthy; exercise in a pill may soon be a reality - Economic Times