Citation

Tseng BY, Gundapuneedi T, Khan MA, Diaz-Arrastia R, Levine BD, Lu H, Huang H, Zhang R. Neuroimage 2013; 82: 510-516.

Affiliation

Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas, TX; Department of Internal Medicine-Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.011

PMID

23769914

Abstract

BACKGROUND: White matter (WM) integrity declines with normal aging. Physical activity may attenuate age-related WM integrity changes and improve cognitive function. This study examined brain WM integrity in Masters athletes who have engaged in life-long aerobic exercise training. We tested the hypothesis that life-long aerobic training is associated with improved brain WM integrity in older adults. METHODS: Ten Masters athletes (3 females, age=72.2±5.3yrs, endurance training>15yrs) and 10 sedentary older adults similar in age and educational level (2 females, age=74.5±4.3yrs) participated. MRI fluid-attenuated-inversion-recovery (FLAIR) images were acquired to assess white matter hyper intensities (WMH) volume. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed to evaluate the WM microstructural integrity with a DTI-derived metric, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). RESULTS: After normalization to whole-brain volume, Masters athletes showed an 83% reduction in deep WMH volume relative to their sedentary counterparts (0.05 ± 0.05% vs. 0.29 ± 0.29%, p<0.05). In addition, we found an inverse relationship between aerobic fitness (VO2max) and deep WMH volume (r=-0.78, p<0.001). Using TBSS, Masters athletes showed higher FA values in the right superior corona radiata (SCR), both sides of superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). In addition, Masters athletes also showed lower MD values in the left posterior thalamic radiation (PTR) and left cingulum hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that life-long exercise is associated with reduced WMH and may preserve WM fiber microstructural integrity related to motor control and coordination in older adults.

Language: en