Cited by 337Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsPhysical Activity and Health

Exercise benefits on Alzheimer’s disease: State-of-the-science

Valenzuela, Pedro L., Castillo-García, Adrián, Morales, Javier S., de la Villa, Pedro, Hampel, Harald, Emanuele, Enzo, Lista, Simone, Lucia, Alejandro·2020·Ageing Research Reviews

Abstract

Although there is no unanimity, growing evidence supports the value of regular physical exercise to prevent Alzheimer's disease as well as cognitive decline in affected patients. Together with an introductory summary on epidemiological evidence, the aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on the potential biological mechanisms underlying exercise benefits in this condition. Regular physical exercise has proven to be beneficial for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., reduced vascular flow, diabetes) involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Exercise also promotes neurogenesis via increases in exercise-induced metabolic factors (e.g., ketone bodies, lactate) and muscle-derived myokines (cathepsin-B, irisin), which in turn stimulate the production of neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Finally, regular exercise exerts anti-inflammatory effects and improves the brain redox status, thereby ameliorating the pathophysiological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (e.g., amyloid-β deposition). In summary, physical exercise might provide numerous benefits through different pathways that might, in turn, help prevent risk and progression of Alzheimer's disease. More evidence is needed, however, based on human studies.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101108

Cites

215 of 215 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Beneficial changes underscore importance of exercise in preventing and slowing progression of ageing and neurodegenerative diseases.

    “These beneficial changes underscore the importance of exercise in preventing and slowing the progression of ageing as well as neurodegenerative diseases.504–508”
  • Accumulating evidence from preclinical, observational and interventional human studies suggests physical activity can prevent or delay onset of neurodegenerative conditions.

    “Moreover, accumulating evidence suggests that physical activity, as shown in preclinical, observational and interventional studies in humans, can prevent or delay the onset of neurodegenerative conditions138.”

    From Exerkines in health, resilience and disease (2022) · cites this paper as [138]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Valenzuela, P. L., Castillo-García, A., Morales, J. S., de la Villa, P., Hampel, H., Emanuele, E., Lista, S., & Lucia, A.
Affiliations
  • Universidad de Alcalá (ES)
  • Universidad Europea de Madrid (ES)
  • Sorbonne Université (FR)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Venue
Ageing Research Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-09
Volume
62
Pages
101108
ISSN
1568-1637 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3036541872
Cited by
337
References
215
Citations by year
2026: 41 · 2025: 64 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 68 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 9
FWCI
6.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Ageing Research Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • ABACUS. Repositorio de Producción Científica (Universidad Europea) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU14/03435)
  • Fondation pour la Recherche sur Alzheimer
  • Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
  • Association Sorbonne Université
  • Eisai
  • Universidad de Alcalá (FPI2016)
  • European Regional Development Fund (PI18/00139)
  • AXA Research Fund
  • Sorbonne Université
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, physical activity, cognitive decline, neurogenesis, myokines, irisin, cathepsin B, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, amyloid-beta, ketone bodies, lactate, cardiovascular risk factors, diabetes mellitus
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Exercise Therapy, Humans, Exercise, Neurogenesis

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review