Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 12 Issue 50

The fundamentals are these: Age related changes that lead to neuronal loss and cognitive decline are related to loss or reduction of myokine release, systemic inflammation, insulin resistance, reactive oxygen induced mitochondrial stress, DNA mutations and poor protein intake. First, exercise releases chemicals called myokines which are cell signaling molecules that have the job of telling other cells what to do via changes in gene expression, protein transcription and much more. The prototypical change is the increase of a substance called brain derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF, for short. BDNF is critical for brain cell mitochondrial biogenesis. BDNF promotes many developmental functions in the brain, including neuronal cell survival, differentiation, migration, dendritic arborization, and synaptic plasticity. Regular exercise promotes a progressive increase in BDNF protein for up to at least 3 mo......... Enjoy, Dr.M