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A study of older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease shows that moderate physical activity may protect brain health and stave off shrinkage of the hippocampus – the brain region responsible for memory and spatial orientation that is attacked first in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. J. Carson Smith, a kinesiology researcher in the University of Maryland School of Public Health who conducted the study, says that while all of us will lose some brain volume as we age, those with an increased genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease typically show greater hippocampal atrophy over time. The findings are published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

New research out of the University of Maryland School of Public Health shows that exercise may improve cognitive function in those at risk for Alzheimer’s by improving the efficiency of brain activity associated with memory. Memory loss leading to Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest fears among older Americans. While some memory loss is normal and to be expected as we age, a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, signals more substantial memory loss and a greater risk for Alzheimer’s, for which there currently is no cure.

Kathleen Ruben, a Ph.D. candidate in health services administration, has been selected as the first recipient of the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy's Rima E. Rudd Fellowship in Health Literacy.

Moderate exercise may help people cope with anxiety and stress for an extended period of time post-workout, according to a study by kinesiology researchers in the University of Maryland School of Public Health published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

A special report released today by the University of Maryland School of Public Health will inform the design of an innovative new system to improve health and health care in Prince George's County. Transforming Health in Prince George's County, Maryland: A Public Health Impact Study is the result of a unique group of studies that concurrently gathered information from residents and policymakers, examined the county's health care workforce and public health programs, and documented best practices from comparable health care systems.