Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Aging is associated with reduced cognitive capacity (e.g., memory loss) and increased risk for dementia. Having dementia is one of the greatest fears of aging. In fact, many fear it more than cancer. Unfortunately, there is no treatment or cure for dementia, so prevention is key. A growing body of research suggests that exercise is a promising strategy for dementia prevention. However, a large degree of variation exists in its observed benefit for cognition in older adults. Importantly, data over the last decade suggest that older women benefit more than older men. Yet, few studies to date have been dedicated to systematically examining this and understanding the reasons behind this observation. Therefore, in this study I examined how biological sex (i.e., female versus male) modified the ability of exercise to improve cognition in a group of older adults at high risk for dementia. I found that 6-months of exercise increased cognition in females to a greater extent than in males, and this was related to increases in the level of a particular protein called brain derived neurotrophic factor that is involved in brain plasticity. Given that more women than men have dementia, the proposed study is essential to better our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying the benefit of exercise on brain health. It will help foster development of successful sex-specific, evidence-based, personalized exercise-based interventions. Given the immense health and financial burden imposed by dementia, our results could have major impact in Canada and internationally by advancing our ability to use "exercise as medicine" in a specific manner for older women and older men to promote healthy brain aging.