Exercise may fight depression in older adults

Researchers from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, studied a small group of healthy older men without history of depression. The men, who were 65 or older, participated in a 12-week exercise trial consisting of resistance exercise (leg and shoulder presses) and high-intensity interval training on a stationary bicycle. The research team took blood and muscle samples and examined gene and protein expression in the muscles before, during and after the trial. They found that expression of transcription factors and KAT increased significantly during the exercise trial. These results were consistent with previous research performed in younger adults.

“The significant exercise training-induced increase in the expression of skeletal muscle transcription factors and KAT in older adults is encouraging given the potential implications related to kynurenine pathway regulation. Future studies are warranted to explore the impact of various exercise modalities and intensities on transient changes of such factors in depressed adults,” the researchers wrote.

Source: Exercise may fight depression in older adults, study suggests