VOLUNTEERS are being sought for a major study into the link between exercise and dementia.

People aged 60 and over are being invited to take part in four-week or 12-week programmes of exercise or mental tasks by researchers.

The five-year NHS and Oxford University study aims to help exercised-based treatment programmes for people with early stage dementia.

The number of county dementia sufferers is set to increase from about 6,600 in 2010 to 8,000 in three years time as people live longer.

It is hoped the research will address whether exercise slows brain degeneration or boosts its ability to compensate.

Volunteers will either complete a 12-week physical exercise programme, of three 30- minute sessions a week, or a four-week computer-based brain training programme, of three 45-minute sessions a week.

They will have their brains scanned using MRI and MEG devices before and after the sessions.

The brain-training group will meet at Headington’s Warneford Hospital while the exercise group will be held at Oxford Brookes University’s Sports Centre at its main Gipsy Lane campus.

Among volunteers who have already taken part in the physical exercise research is Kay Herlihy, 69, of Blackbird Leys, who said: “I wanted to lose a bit of weight and thought it would be a great way of getting a free personal trainer. I wasn’t an exercise person at all but since taking part I have bought an exercise bike and I have lost nearly a stone.”

She added: “There was no pressure and it was very relaxed.

“I would say ‘do it’ to anyone thinking of taking part, it was great fun.”

The Cognitive Health in Ageing project is a collaboration between the university and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Researchers from the Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity (OHBA) and the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) will be taking part.

The OHBA’s Dr Susannah Murphy said: “In a population in which the number of individuals experiencing the devastating effects of dementia is increasing, it is vital we understand why and how brain function declines with age so that effective treatments can be developed.

“Recently, research has shown that both physical and mental exercise may play important roles in promoting healthy ageing of the brain, as well as having beneficial effects on general health and wellbeing.

“It is possible that they may even prevent the cognitive decline associated with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.”

The study was welcomed by Age UK Oxfordshire chief executive Paul Cann as “immensely positive”.

He said: “We know physical activity is a huge influence on mental health. Properly structured exercise programmes reduce the incidents of dementia in a given population by 30 per cent.”

The programme supported by the National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, a collaboration between the hospital trust and university.

For more information, visit oxfordcognitivehealth.org or call 01865 222780.