Exercise-linked Hormone Protects Memory in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/exercise-linked-hormone-protects-memory-315240?utm_campaign=NEWSLETTER_TN_Breaking%20Science%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=69771091&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_BojBhpleGiTzNPADubayzjhCqerq0c0a8_fEcxl-pYyDBl20QfCqddtXcTnzhvjX1gLV8KU4gtq4fopSyiyJkUVD8UQ&_hsmi=69771091 Athletes know a vigorous workout can release a flood of endorphins: “feel-good” hormones that boost mood. Now evidence shows that exercise produces another hormone that may improve memory and protect against Alzheimer’s disease, A few years ago, exercise researchers discovered a hormone called irisin that is released into the circulation during physical activity. Initial studies suggested that irisin mainly played a role in energy metabolism. But newer research found that the hormone may also promote neuronal growth in the brain’s hippocampus, a region critical for learning and memory. Swimming boosts irisin, protects memory in mice The researchers then looked at the effect of exercise on irisin and the brain. In the study’s most compelling experiments, the researchers found that mice who swam nearly every day for five weeks did not develop memory impairment despite getting infusions of beta amyloid, the neuron-clogging, memory-robbing protein implicated in Alzheimer’s.