Intensive Lifestyle Intervention Benefits Brain Microstructure in Younger Older Adults
A secondary analysis of the U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (US POINTER) has revealed that intensive lifestyle interventions can significantly benefit brain microstructure in older adults, particularly those under 70 years old. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, investigated how diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived free water (FW), an early biomarker of white matter injury, responds to structured lifestyle interventions. Participants aged 60 to 79 years underwent MRI scans at baseline and over 24 months. The structured intervention, which included supervised exercise, dietary counseling, cognitive and social engagement, and health coaching, was found to attenuate increases in global white matter FW in participants younger than 70 years. This effect was not observed in participants aged 70 and older. The researchers suggest that FW is an early, intervention-responsive marker of cerebrovascular brain health, indicating that earlier implem...