A randomized controlled trial on the effects of traditional Thai mind-body exercise (Ruesi Dadton) on biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Exercise has been shown to reduce the rate of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease. Although motor coordination movements and poses in Ruesi Dadton (RD) exercises may improve cognitive function, RD is rarely used for MCI. To date, there is insufficient evidence on whether 12 weeks of RD exercise correlates with blood biomarkers related to neurogenesis and plasticity.

Aim: To determine the effects on blood biomarkers of 12-week RD in MCI.

Design: Two-group parallel randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Community exercise.

Population: Individual with MCI.

Methods: Fifty-eight participants (n.=29 in each group). The RD group performed 60min of RD exercises (15 poses) three times weekly for 12 weeks. The control group received no intervention. In addition, both groups were given information regarding MCI symptoms by the physician on the first day. Peripheral blood was collected to measure serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) levels before and after intervention.

Results: The effects of 12-week RD pre- and post-intervention were examined using 2×2 repeated multivariate analyses, which showed significant differences in interaction by group and time. Student's t-tests and paired t-tests were employed in subsequent analyses to evaluate between-group and within-group differences for both biomarkers.

Conclusions: In each test, we discovered increased levels of BDNF and SIRT1 in the RD group but not in the control group. These findings suggested that RD could benefit MCI patients through enhanced BDNF and SIRT1 levels.

Clinical rehabilitation impact: Twelve weeks of RD might be helpful to patients with MCI and older people who experience cognitive impairment by improving blood biomarkers responsible for brain plasticity and amyloid plaque degradation.