Effect of aerobic exercise on hippocampal volume
AD neuropathology includes β-amyloid plaques and neu- rofibrillary tangles that cause neurodegeneration and brain atrophy that begins and is most severe in the medial temporal lobe, particularly in the hippocampus . To measure those changes in vivo, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been developed and validated as a tool for segmenting and calculating whole and regional brain volumes, indicating an annual 3 to 5% decline in hippocampal volume in AD. While MRI has been studied for diagnosing AD and predicting the progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD, its use as an out- come measure in RCTs is just emerging. Although no aerobic exercise studies in AD have used MRI, aerobic exercise has been found to increase hippocampal volume in nondemented individuals