ArticleFrontiers in aging neuroscience2014
Physical activity reduces hippocampal atrophy in elders at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.
Article in Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term physical activity, brain structure, and cognitive function: a systematic review of longitudinal observational evidence.BMC neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise with brain white matter in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain imaging and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Apolipoprotein E Genotype Moderation of the Association Between Physical Activity and Brain Health. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- [Effect of physical exercise on Alzheimer's disease. A sistematic review].Atencion primaria · 2020Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of prospective studies on the role of physical activity and the prevention of Alzheimer's disease in older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2015Pooled it
- Improving fitness increases dentate gyrus/CA3 volume in the hippocampal head and enhances memory in young adults.Hippocampus · 2020Trial
- Effect of aerobic exercise on cognition in younger adults: A randomized clinical trial.Neurology · 2019Trial
- Functional status, physical activity level, and exercise regularity in patients with fibromyalgia after Multidisciplinary treatment: retrospective analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Rheumatology international · 2017Trial
- Hippocampal sub-regional shape and physical activity in older adults.Hippocampus · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Review
- Molecular mechanisms of exercise-induced improvements in Alzheimer's disease: a focus on lipid homeostasis.Translational neurodegeneration · 2026Review
- Review
- Move to Remember: The Role of Physical Activity and Exercise in Preserving and Enhancing Cognitive Function in Aging-A Narrative Review.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Medical risk factors, ApoE haplotype, and Alzheimer's disease: a large-scale analysis.The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease · 2025Article
- Impact of Gut-Brain Axis and Probiotics on Alzheimer's Disease.Neurology international · 2025Review
- Living in a 20-min neighborhood and brain health and resilience in older adults: The Healthy Brain Initiative.Health & place · 2025Article
- Assessing Exercise and Fitness-Related Brain Health Using Multi-modal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Outcomes.Advances in neurobiology · 2025Review
- Protocol of a randomized, single-blind, controlled trial of an 18-month, home-based, high-intensity, exercise intervention in older, cognitively unimpairedFrontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
We examined the impact of physical activity (PA) on longitudinal change in hippocampal volume in cognitively intact older adults at varying genetic risk for the sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Hippocampal volume was measured from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans administered at baseline and at an 18-month follow-up in 97 healthy, cognitively intact older adults. Participants were classified as High or Low PA based on a self-report questionnaire of frequency and intensity of exercise. Risk status was defined by the presence or absence of the apolipoprotein E-epsilon 4 (APOE-ε4) allele. Four subgroups were studied: Low Risk/High PA (n = 24), Low Risk/Low PA (n = 34), High Risk/High PA (n = 22), and High Risk/Low PA (n = 17). Over the 18 month follow-up interval, hippocampal volume decreased by 3% in the High Risk/Low PA group, but remained stable in the three remaining groups. No main effects or interactions between genetic risk and PA were observed in control brain regions, including the caudate, amygdala, thalamus, pre-central gyrus, caudal middle frontal gyrus, cortical white matter (WM), and total gray matter (GM). These findings suggest that PA may help to preserve hippocampal volume in individuals at increased genetic risk for AD. The protective effects of PA on hippocampal atrophy were not observed in individuals at low risk for AD. These data suggest that individuals at genetic risk for AD should be targeted for increased levels of PA as a means of reducing atrophy in a brain region critical for the formation of episodic memories.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.