Exercise could be beneficial in schizophrenia

Aerobic exercise increases hippocampal volume in patients with and without schizophrenia, but further studies are needed to determine its effectiveness as a long term treatment option in schizophrenic patients, a randomised study concludes. Relative hippocampal volume significantly increased in 13 patients with chronic schizophrenia and all healthy controls who took part in an aerobic cycling program for three months. There was no change to hippocampal volume among any subjects – with or without schizophrenia – who were assigned to a non exercise group. Patients with schizophrenia who took part in the exercise intervention had a 34% increase in short-term memory (STM) scores, while control subjects had a 17% lower score after exercise, the researchers reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Improved STM scores were also significantly greater in both exercise groups than changes in patients with schizophrenia who were in the non-exercise group (P=0.04). Subjects in the schizophrenia exercise group also had a 35% increase in the N-acetylaspartate to creatine hippocampus ratio. The study authors said the most robust finding of their study was the exercise related increase in hippocampal volume, which was similar to that observed in other subcortical structures when schizophrenia patients switch from typical to atypical medications. “Further clinical studies are needed to determine if an incremental improvement in the disability related to schizophrenia could be obtained by incorporating exercise into treatment planning and lifestyle choice for individuals with the illness,” they concluded. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67 (2): 133-143...