Regular sports activity would help patients schizophrenics to improve their cognitive abilities, according to the results ofa study published in the medical journal Schizophrenia Bulletin. 12 weeks of aerobic exercise can significantly improve patients’ brain function.
Researchers from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom carried out a meta-analysis of 10 trials dealing with the cognitive results of 385 patients affected by this mental illness. They analyzed the link between sports activity and improvement in the symptoms of the disease, including cognitive deficits which are particularly problematic for patients.
“These disorders impede recovery and increase the negative impact on patients’ ability to function in work and social situations. In addition, current drugs from the schizophrenia do not address the cognitive deficits of the disease,” says Joe Firth, a sports medicine and psychosomatic medicine researcher who authored the study.
A new therapeutic voice to treat cognitive decline in schizophrenics
Scientists have found that patients who practiced 12 weeks of aerobic physical activity (medium but prolonged pace such as running on a treadmill or cycling) in combination with their treatments improved their brain capacity unlike patients treated only with their medications.
The areas of the brain that were most affected by exercise were those of the ability to understand social situations, attention span, and working memory. The researchers also found a quantitative link: the more the patients practiced sports, the more the cognitive improvement was marked.
“We are looking for new ways to treat these aspects of the disease, this study tells us that physical exercise can provide a solution”, explains Joe Firth.
“These results present the first large-scale evidence for the use of exercise to treat neurocognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. The use of exercise in the early stages of the disease could reduce the likelihood of long-term disability, and facilitate full, functional recovery for patients.
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