Regular moderate exercise is one of the most effective interventions for slowing the progression of degenerative aging. However, the data supporting this claim needs to be carefully balanced against the volume of evidence. Biotechnology has the potential to offer much more but progress in this field is slow, and the assessment of new therapies across large populations is even slower.
Exercise introduces significant changes in cellular biochemistry and in the functioning of higher level systems in the body, which poses a challenge for researchers to fully understand how it produces its numerous benefits. The disconnect between the data on cellular biochemistry and an assessment of health parameters is a considerable and ongoing obstacle.
Microglia, the innate immune cells in the brain, influence brain health and function. They can adopt different behaviors, including pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory roles, as well as others in-between. Influencing these behaviors could lead to suppressing inflammation and promoting tissue regeneration. Exercise can affect the behavior of microglia and may lead to regulatory mechanisms that can be adjusted by other means.
A study found that exercise training improved cognitive function in mice by reducing neuroinflammation and neuronal loss. Elevated levels of lactate in the brain played a role in reducing neuroinflammation through a particular pathway. Other studies have also shown a link between exercise, lactate, and brain function. Furthermore, both exercise training and exogenous lactate treatment inhibited the overactivation of microglia in mice with a condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease and increased the number of reparative microglia. In vitro experiments confirmed that lactate treatment increased the expression of repair genes in microglia, indicating its potential to shift the balance from damaging to reparative microglia.
