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CNN Live At Daybreak
Exercise May Help Prevent You From Losing Your Memory
Aired October 17, 2003 - 05:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: If this next story won't make you get off the couch and move that body, I don't know what will.
Here's CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We all know exercise can help you lose weight. But it may also help prevent you from losing your memory.
DR. ANTONIO CONVIT, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We thought that we were born with a brain and then that brain degenerated as we aged until the time we died. Now we know that there are many triggers that actually make parts of the brain regenerate themselves.
GUPTA: And it seems that working out is one of those triggers.
STAN COLCOMBE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA: Cardiovascular exercise that's done over a longer period of time will actually tend to reduce the amount of tissue that you lose as you age.
GUPTA: Losing less tissue may mean preserving precious memories. Researchers at the University of Illinois looked at MRIs from people aged 55 or older. The results are dramatic. The first image, a 74- year-old person who is fit. The second, an obviously smaller brain in a 74-year-old person who is not fit.
DR. ART KRAMER, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA: Higher levels of fitness were related to lower levels of tissue loss.
GUPTA: These red and yellow highlighted areas in the brain deteriorate more slowly in a person who's more fit. And in other research, scientists at New York University show that glucose levels also matter.
CONVIT: By losing weight, which can be done either by diet or, most profitably, through exercise, that will improve how you regulate your glucose. And we have shown that improved glucose regulation is associated with better memory.
GUPTA: It's the hippocampus that's associated with memory.
CONVIT: The individuals who had poor glucose regulation had poor memory and they had a part of the brain that's called the hippocampus, it was smaller. GUPTA: Of course, researchers caution that the harder you work out won't necessarily protect your memory any longer. It's a lifelong commitment to fitness that matters most.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: So increase the speed on that treadmill and make your brain bigger.
Tune into CNN's Weekend House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more about your health. You can catch it each Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:30 Eastern time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 17, 2003 - 05:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: If this next story won't make you get off the couch and move that body, I don't know what will.
Here's CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We all know exercise can help you lose weight. But it may also help prevent you from losing your memory.
DR. ANTONIO CONVIT, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We thought that we were born with a brain and then that brain degenerated as we aged until the time we died. Now we know that there are many triggers that actually make parts of the brain regenerate themselves.
GUPTA: And it seems that working out is one of those triggers.
STAN COLCOMBE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA: Cardiovascular exercise that's done over a longer period of time will actually tend to reduce the amount of tissue that you lose as you age.
GUPTA: Losing less tissue may mean preserving precious memories. Researchers at the University of Illinois looked at MRIs from people aged 55 or older. The results are dramatic. The first image, a 74- year-old person who is fit. The second, an obviously smaller brain in a 74-year-old person who is not fit.
DR. ART KRAMER, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA: Higher levels of fitness were related to lower levels of tissue loss.
GUPTA: These red and yellow highlighted areas in the brain deteriorate more slowly in a person who's more fit. And in other research, scientists at New York University show that glucose levels also matter.
CONVIT: By losing weight, which can be done either by diet or, most profitably, through exercise, that will improve how you regulate your glucose. And we have shown that improved glucose regulation is associated with better memory.
GUPTA: It's the hippocampus that's associated with memory.
CONVIT: The individuals who had poor glucose regulation had poor memory and they had a part of the brain that's called the hippocampus, it was smaller. GUPTA: Of course, researchers caution that the harder you work out won't necessarily protect your memory any longer. It's a lifelong commitment to fitness that matters most.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: So increase the speed on that treadmill and make your brain bigger.
Tune into CNN's Weekend House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more about your health. You can catch it each Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:30 Eastern time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
