Advocates of mental health have long claimed sickness of the mind could lead to sickness of the body. Conversely, a healthy mind leads to a healthy body. Now, when I say advocates, I don't simply mean people from the past couple of decades but even hundreds of years ago. It shouldn't be surprising that this old knowledge holds true in an era of profound scientific advancement. In recent years, there has once again been a push to renew awareness of mental health, with research showing that the link between mental health and physical health is deeply connected, especially in the brain - the center of it all. Findings from advancements in research show that physical exercise can literally improve the biological health of the brain.
Before we get to that, let's talk about some key players against disease and injury in the brain. While there are a variety of such injuries and illnesses that can happen, the responses are usually very similar. In the face of damage and disease, the brain sends out a distress call and a number of the brain's first responders mobilize. This distress call is known as the Integrated Stress Response (ISR) and is critical to setting up an environment of neuronal repair.
These first responders are known as glial cells. They're security guards, clean-up crews, damage control, and ambulances. One of these types of glial cells is known as oligodendrocytes, and their job is to repair something known as myelin that covers and protects the axons of neurons. Neurons are the communication cells of the brain, and their axons are like long telephone wires connecting them. These axons have myelin sheaths covering them, like the insulation on telephone wires, to speed up the communication between neurons.
Therefore, tremendous research has gone into how oligodendrocytes can be protected and increased during neurological disease and damage to protect neurons and remyelinate any damage that has occurred. This essential function of oligodendrocytes is why researchers such as Dr. Yanan Chen, who lectured at Loyola University's Neuroscience Seminar, focus on protecting oligodendrocytes as a repair mechanism for multiple sclerosis. Dr. Chen's work looks explicitly at extending this ISR with a drug called Sephin1 so that oligodendrocytes can work on repairing the damage, especially in the case of multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the body mistakenly attacks the myelin on neurons.
Myelin damage occurs in several other disease processes, such as spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's disease, and ALS, among several other diseases. It is clear then that every tool is crucial when dealing with such debilitating and complex diseases. The good news is that behavioral responses such as exercise have demonstrated tangible results in addition to scientific and medicinal interventions. The article "Role of exercise in the brain: focus on oligodendrocytes and remyelination" discusses the benefits of exercise on neurological disease recovery and general neurological health.
Several studies done in mice demonstrate that exercise can significantly improve recovery from neurological illnesses. They can do this in a number of ways, with clear biological mechanisms. For example, glial cells, including oligodendrocytes, show an increased number in organisms that regularly exercise. As a result, they can increasingly re-myelinate neurons not just in diseased organisms but in general neurological decline as well, such as age. Additionally, exercise, in addition to medication, presents with a greater recovery level than exercise alone.
In addition to these are numerous other benefits, such as increased brain plasticity, response time, decreased cognitive decline, and longer lifespans. This is only a sample of the broader benefits across the body with everything from mobility to diabetes. As such data continues to emerge, scientific ventures will increase into this domain, and it is only a matter of time before such findings are replicated in humans.
Let's seize the opportunity to forge a healthier future by embracing the transformative power of exercise. In a world brimming with knowledge about the many benefits of physical activity, there's no need to delay the choice to enhance our well-being. The wisdom of ages past, coupled with contemporary scientific revelations, converges on a singular truth: a healthy mind resides within a healthy body.
References
Chen Y, Kunjamma RB, Weiner M, Chan JR, Popko B. Prolonging the integrated stress response enhances CNS remyelination in an inflammatory environment. Elife. 2021 Mar 23;10:e65469. doi: 10.7554/eLife.65469. PMID: 33752802; PMCID: PMC7987340.
Maugeri G, D'Agata V, Musumeci G. Role of exercise in the brain: focus on oligodendrocytes and remyelination. Neural Regen Res. 2023 Dec;18(12):2645-2646. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.373683. PMID: 37449603; PMCID: PMC10358674.
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