Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Weak Muscles Increases Risk of Alzheimers

People who have weaker muscles have shown signs of having a higher risk for Alzheimers disease and declines in cognitive functions. I found this on sciencedaily.com.


Studies were done on 970 older adults. Each went through evaluations including medical history, cognitive function, neurologic and neuropsychological tests, and muscle strength. During this time, 138 participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

[...] Those at the 90th percentile of muscle strength had about a 61 percent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared with those in the 10th percentile.

"Overall, these data show that greater muscle strength is associated with a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment suggest that a common pathogenesis may underlie loss of muscle strength and cognition in aging," the authors write.

Researchers are not sure why weaker muscles can increase the risk of Alzheimers disease but think it could be from damage to the mitochondria, this produces energy for your body's cells, which could cause the loss of muscle strength and cognitive function.

2 comments:

  1. Reading this article made me want to go work out. haha

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  2. Another solid post, Chelsea. I would like, however, to hear more of a personal reaction--why is this article relevant to you personally, or to this class?

    22/25

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