The Link Between Physical Activity and Brain Health in Healthy Adults
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot listed
Trial typeObservational
Biological sexAll
Age40-75
SponsorTechnical University of Madrid
About this trial
The goal of this observational study is to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between physical activity and brain health from a multiscale approach (neuropsychology, neuroimaging, peripheral biomarkers and genetics) in former athletes and sedentary individuals. The main question it aims to answer is:
Do former athletes have better brain structure than sedentary people? Evaluating the differences in neurodegenerative processes between competitive training and sedentary and inactivity.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Group A: ex-athletes and continue to perform regular physical exercise (minimum 3 days/week of moderate-vigorous intensity).
Group B: sedentary individuals, (i.e., perform <150 min of moderate intensity exercise per week or IPAQ score<600 MET min/week).
In both groups (A and B) the conditions of physical exercise or sedentary lifestyle must have been maintained for at least 6 months prior to the evaluations.
Not having a history of neurological or psychiatric disorder or suffering from a serious medical condition
Disqualifiers
Medical conditions that have a high risk of associated cognitive symptoms.
Severe head injury with loss of consciousness within the previous 5 years.
Alcoholism (>3 alcoholic drinks per day).
Chronic use of anxiolytics, neuroleptics, narcotics, anticonvulsants, or sedative hypnotics.
Trial population
Region of Madrid
Trial design
Design model
Cohort
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Treatments tested in this trial
Not listed
Trial groups
60 Participants
are grouped into 2 trial groupsGroup A: Ex-athletes and continue to exercise regularly
Group B: Sedentary individuals
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Concentration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in plasma (pg/mL)
Measured with ELISA kit (e.g., R\&D Systems, Cat. #DY248). Higher BDNF reflects greater neurotrophic support.
Time frame
Baseline2
Concentration of total tau protein in plasma (pg/mL)
Assayed by high-sensitivity ELISA (e.g., Cusabio, Cat. #CSB-E13913h). Greater tau concentration indicates increased axonal injury or neurodegeneration.
Time frame
Baseline3
Hippocampal volume measured by high-resolution 3 T T1-weighted MRI (mm³)
Volume extracted with FreeSurfer; Larger values indicate greater hippocampal integrity
Time frame
Baseline4
Resting-state functional connectivity between primary motor cortex and supplementary motor area measured by 3 T fMRI (Fisher-Z)
Fisher-Z transformed correlation computed with CONN; Higher values indicate stronger connectivity
Time frame
BaselineSecondary outcomes
1
Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) measured by CPET with ramp protocol on treadmill (mL·kg-¹·min-¹)
Cardiopulmonary exercise test performed on treadmill using Ramp incremental ramp. Breath-by-breath gas exchange collected via metabolic cart. VO₂max defined as the highest 30-s average during the test; Higher values indicate better cardiorespiratory fitness.
Time frame
Baseline2
Mean daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity measured by ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer over 7 days (min/day)
Device worn on non-dominant wrist 24 h/day for 7 consecutive days. Raw data (100 Hz) processed in ActiLife with 10 s epochs; Freedson adult cut-points ≥ 1 952 counts·min-¹ define MVPA. Higher values indicate greater physical activity.
Time frame
Baseline3
Body mass index (BMI) calculated from weight and stadiometer-measured height (kg/m²)
Height measured to 0.1 cm with height measuring rod. Weight obtained from InBody system. BMI = weight ÷ height². Higher BMI indicates greater overall adiposity.
Time frame
Baseline4
Peak force of mid-thigh-pull test measured by portable force dynamometer (N)
Participants perform two maximal isometric mid-thigh pulls on calibrated dynamometer with 60 s rest. The higher of two trials recorded as peak force. Greater values indicate stronger lower-limb strength.
Time frame
BaselineSponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov