Mild Cognitive Impairment and Sarcopenia: Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Neuroinflammation, Cognitive Performance, and Structural Brain Changes.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing preclinical and clinical literature without systematic search or meta-analysis
PubMed 41303517 · doi:10.3390/ijms262211036
What was done
This narrative review synthesized preclinical and clinical literature evaluating the effects of resistance exercise training (RET) in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and sarcopenia, focusing on molecular pathways, neuroinflammation, structural brain changes, and cognitive performance.
What was found
The abstract provides no numerical values, effect estimates, or sample sizes. It qualitatively describes that RET activates anabolic pathways (PI3K/Akt/mTOR), enhances neurotrophic factors (BDNF, NT-3, IGF-1), stimulates myokine secretion (irisin, cathepsin B), and promotes an anti-inflammatory microglial phenotype. It also reports preserved hippocampal and precuneus gray matter, enhanced white matter connectivity, and improvements in executive function, memory, and global cognition sustained for up to 18 months.
Why it matters
This review outlines shared pathological mechanisms linking muscular and cognitive decline, highlighting resistance exercise as a dual-target non-pharmacological strategy for dementia prevention.
Limits
No quantitative findings, confidence intervals, or meta-analytic syntheses are reported in the abstract. As a narrative review, it is vulnerable to selection bias, conflates preclinical mechanistic models with human clinical outcomes, and highlights a lack of standardized training protocols.
Cited by
- supports Resistance training increases IGF-1, which is critical for the development and maintenance of white matter structure in the brain across the lifespan.