Exercise hormone may help combat dementia

A hormone released during exercise may protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease, research suggests.

Irisin is a messenger protein generated by muscle tissue that is carried around the body in the bloodstream.

The new evidence indicates that it may be behind the known positive effects on mental performance of taking exercise.

US and Brazilian scientists have found lower levels of the hormone in the brains of Alzheimer's patients compared with healthy individuals. The same was true for the precursor protein from which irisin is derived, FNDC5.

In tests on genetically-engineered mice, the scientists induced learning and memory deficits by cutting out irisin.

They were able to reverse these effects by restoring the hormone.

When irisin signalling was blocked in mice with a rodent version of Alzheimer's, the brain benefits of physical exercise were lost.

Bostering irisin, either with drugs or through exercise, could provide a "novel strategy" for preventing cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease, said the scientists.

The research, led by Dr Fernana de Felice, from the Federal University of Rio de Janerio in Brazil, is reported in the journal Nature Medicine.