BACKGROUND: Although ageing and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease, have been associated with olfaction impairment, studies exploring how to ameliorate this impairment are limited. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of various types of physical exercise on olfaction decline in ageing. METHODOLOGY: 99 healthy community-dwelling participants (85 women; mean (SD) age, 62.5 (5.7) years) were included. All the participants were required to complete the tests consisting of a questionnaire, cognitive test and olfaction test. RESULTS: Odor identification scores for participants who exercised regularly for more than 1 year (more than 3 times/wk; more than 30 min each time) were significantly higher than those for non-exercisers, and odor detection threshold scores were significantly higher in the exercisers. Both odor threshold and odor identification scores for those who exercised by practicing taiji (tai chi), dancing, or running were significantly better than those for participants who exercised by walking or who did not exercise. CONCLUSION: Compared with those among older people who did not exercise, measures of olfaction among older adults who exercised were better, and the type of physical exercise mattered. Therefore, if physical exercise intervention is suggested to prevent or delay olfactory deterioration in older adults, the type of physical exercise should be considered.

Study designExperimental study.ObjectiveTo determine the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at Zusanli (ST36) on colonic motility and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in rats with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) after spinal cord injury (SCI).SettingSecond School of Clinical Medical, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu, China.MethodsWe divided 30 adult Sprague-Dawley rats into a sham group (10 rats), a model group (SCI alone, 10 rats) and a EA group (SCI+EA at ST36, 10 rats). Defecation time was recorded as the time from activated carbon administration (on day 15) to evacuation of the first black stool. Immunohistochemical, real-time PCR and western blot analyses were performed to assess changes in nNOS-immunoreactive cells, and nNOS messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein, respectively, after 14 experimental days.ResultsDefecation time was lower in the EA group than in the model group (P<0.01). On immunohistochemical analysis, nNOS was localized in the myenteric plexus of the colon. The number of nNOS-immunoreactive cells and the intensity of nNOS staining were greater in the model group than in the sham group and lesser in the EA group than in the model group. Consistent with the immunohistochemical findings, nNOS mRNA and protein expression was higher in the model group than in the sham group and lower in the EA group than in the model group (P<0.05 for both).ConclusionIncreased colonic nNOS expression can induce/aggravate NBD in SCI rats. EA at ST36 ameliorated NBD, possibly by downregulating colonic nNOS expression.