How aerobic exercise may help brain health and thinking after late-life depression
Biomolecular Mediators of Aerobic Exercise effects on Cognitive and Brain Health in Remitted Late-life Depression
This work looks at whether regular aerobic exercise can improve brain health and thinking in older adults who have recovered from late-life depression.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11235908 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you had depression later in life but are currently in remission, researchers would ask you to join an aerobic exercise program and come in for tests. They will take blood samples to measure small biomolecules and particles (like plasma extracellular vesicles), perform brain MRI scans to check brain structure and network function, and give memory and thinking tests before and after the exercise program. The team will link changes in blood markers to changes in brain scans and cognition to find biological signals that may explain how exercise helps protect the brain. This is a focused pilot project at the University of Pittsburgh designed to point toward larger prevention studies if promising signals are found.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults with a history of late-life depression who are currently in remission and able to take part in a supervised aerobic exercise program and clinic visits.
Not a fit: People with active major depression, diagnosed dementia, or medical issues that make aerobic exercise unsafe are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify blood markers showing how exercise protects the brain and help guide new ways to lower dementia risk in people with past late-life depression.
How similar studies have performed: Exercise has shown promise for lowering dementia risk in broader groups, but using blood biomarkers to explain benefits specifically in remitted late-life depression is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gujral, Swathi — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Gujral, Swathi
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.