Resistance Training and White Matter Lesion Progression in Older Women: Exploratory Analysis of a 12-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Niousha Bolandzadeh; Roger Tam; Todd C Handy; Lindsay S Nagamatsu; Chun Liang Hsu; Jennifer C Davis; Elizabeth Dao; B Lynn Beattie; Teresa Liu-Ambrose

doi:10.1111/jgs.13644

Resistance Training and White Matter Lesion Progression in Older Women: Exploratory Analysis of a 12-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Oct;63(10):2052-60. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13644. Epub 2015 Oct 12.

Authors

Niousha Bolandzadeh^{1

2

3

4

5}, Roger Tam⁶, Todd C Handy⁷, Lindsay S Nagamatsu⁸, Chun Liang Hsu^{1

3

4

5}, Jennifer C Davis^{1

5

9

10}, Elizabeth Dao^{1

3

4

5}, B Lynn Beattie^{5

11}, Teresa Liu-Ambrose^{1

2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Aging, Mobility and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
² Experimental Medicine Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
³ Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁵ Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁶ Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁸ Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois.
⁹ School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
¹⁰ Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
¹¹ Division of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

PMID: 26456233
DOI: 10.1111/jgs.13644

Abstract

Objectives: To assess whether resistance training (RT) slows the progression of white matter lesions (WMLs) in older women.

Design: Secondary analysis of a 52-week randomized controlled trial of RT, the Brain Power Study.

Setting: Community center and research center.

Participants: Of 155 community-dwelling women aged 65 to 75 enrolled in the Brain Power Study, 54 who had evidence of WMLs on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline were included in this secondary analysis.

Intervention: Participants were randomized to once-weekly RT (1× RT), twice-weekly RT (2× RT), or twice-weekly balance and tone (BAT). Assessors were blinded to participant assignments.

Measurements: WML volume was measured using MRI at baseline and trial completion.

Results: At trial completion, the 2× RT group had significantly lower WML volume than the BAT group (P = .03). There was no significant difference between the BAT group and the 1× RT group at trial completion (P = .77). Among participants in the two RT groups, reduced WML progression over 12 months was significantly associated with maintenance of gait speed (correlation coefficient (r) = -0.31, P = .049) but not with executive functions (r = 0.30; P = .06).

Conclusion: Engaging in progressive RT may reduce WML progression.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00426881.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging; resistance training; white matter lesions.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Disease Progression
Executive Function
Female
Gait
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Prospective Studies
Resistance Training / methods*
Resistance Training / statistics & numerical data
Single-Blind Method
White Matter / pathology*

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00426881