2023-05-08 05:52:25
Researchers found that breathing exercise could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Breathing lowers the level of toxic proteins by changing heart rate.
Los Angeles – Alzheimer’s is one of the most devastating diseases in existence. It slowly robs those affected of their entire memory, until the complete loss of mental and physical abilities. The results of a US study are therefore all the more hopeful, as they indicate that not only certain rules of conduct prevent dementia in old age, but that a simple breathing exercise can also significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease: Protein deposits in the brain trigger symptoms
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disease in which the build-up of abnormal proteins leads to the death of nerve cells. This disrupts the messenger substances that carry messages, and the brain shrinks. As brain cells die, the functions they provide are also lost. On average, patients live five to seven years after diagnosis, but some live as long as ten to fifteen years.
The disease can draw attention to itself with the following symptoms:
- Difficulty memorizing new information, surveying situations or making connections
- Difficulty focusing on a thought or object
- Loss of the ability to express yourself verbally (orally and in writing) and to understand others
- Difficulty planning and organizing
- Difficulty finding your way in place or time
- Changes in social behaviors, impulse control, drive, mood, or reality
- depression, anxiety or restlessness
- Source: German Alzheimer Society
Researchers discover: breathing exercises can reduce risk factors for Alzheimer’s
The researchers at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology found evidence in their investigations that a certain breathing exercise can reduce the number of toxic protein deposits (proteins) in the brain. Clumping of these toxic proteins or their deposits on the vessel walls have been strongly associated with Alzheimer’s in recent decades, and neurologists suspect that they can even cause dementia.
Lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s: Researchers are investigating the effects of simple breathing exercises
For the Study that first at Scientific Reports has been published, the scientists recruited 108 participants aged 18 to 30 and 55 to 80 years. For a period of four weeks, the participants, who were divided into two groups, were to perform a specific exercise twice a day for 20 minutes each time. The first group listened to quiet music or were encouraged to think of calming scenarios, such as a walk in the park, while using a screen to keep the heart rate trace as stable as possible.
Alzheimer’s study: Breathing had an effect on heart rate and protein levels in the blood
The other group of participants should keep their breathing in a certain rhythm: breathe in for five seconds and then breathe out again for five seconds. Participants should monitor their heart rate on the screen as they do this and try to increase these oscillations.
At the beginning and after four weeks of the breathing exercises, blood samples were taken from the participants to check the levels of amyloid beta peptide in the blood.
Researchers: Simple breathing exercise could help reduce Alzheimer’s risk
The result: The group that breathed slowly and tried to increase their heart rate variability through increased oscillations had less amyloid in their blood.
The breathing exercises could be an inexpensive and low-risk way to lower plasma beta-amyloid levels and keep them low throughout adulthood.
Whether the breathing exercises ensure that less protein is produced or whether they promote the breakdown of proteins is now to be clarified by further studies. However, Professor Mara Mather, director of the Emotion & Cognition Lab at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, said: “Based on the data we have, the decline in amyloid beta seems more likely to be due to reduced production.”
Reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s: Behavioral measures reduce dangerous proteins in the blood
The research team explained that their study is the first to show that behavioral interventions can reduce plasma levels of amyloid beta peptides. “Regular practice of slow breathing using HRV biofeedback could be an inexpensive and low-risk way to lower plasma amyloid beta levels and maintain them low throughout adulthood,” Mather said in one MedicalXpress press release.
According to figures from the German Alzheimer Society, almost 1.8 million people were living with dementia in Germany at the end of 2021. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. The Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease usually do not appear until after the age of 65, but the first signs can appear as early as nine years before the diagnosis. (ulha)
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