Exercise prevents Alzheimers

Regular exercise is the best lifestyle change a middle-aged person can make to prevent dementia, a landmark study has revealed. Activity of any intensity, from walking the dog to mountain climbing, helps prevents the cognitive decline typical in patients with Alzheimer's disease, experts said.

Recent research has shown abnormalities in the brain tissue begins several decades before the onset of cognitive decline.

But, little is known about the lifestyle factors that might slow the onset of decline in middle age.

s cases of Alzheimer's disease diagnosis double every five years after the age of 65, most studies examining risk factors and cognitive disease recruit participants over the age of 60 or 70.

But, this new study by researchers at the University of Melbourne, tracked 387 women aged 45 to 55 when it began in 1992.

Dr Cassandra Szoeke, who led the study, said: 'There are few research studies which have data on participants from midlife and have assessed cognition in all their participants in later life.

'This research is really important because we suspect half the cases of dementia worldwide are most likely due to some type of modifiable risk factor.

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