Exercise-Modulated Cognitive Hormones

January 6, 2026 updated by: Sami Gabr, King Saud University

Leptin and Irisin Hormonal Crosstalk in Cognitive Health Among Aging Individuals: The Modulatory Role of Exercise

Investigating the influence of a 12-week exercise regimen structured thrice weekly on cognitive capacity, and related hormones like Leptin, Irisin, BDNF hormones, antioxidant status, and inflammatory cytokines, whether these modulations potentially enhance neuroprotection and mitigate age-related cognitive impairment among healthy adults.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

To elucidate the potential role of exercise as a buffer of cognitive impairment among healthy adults. We thought to investigate the effect of supervised aerobic training of moderate intensity on related hormones like Leptin, Irisin, BDNF hormones, antioxidant status, and inflammatory cytokines, whether these modulations potentially enhance neuroprotection and mitigate age-related cognitive impairment among healthy adults.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

60

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Sixty healthy individuals, aged 50 to 80 years (30 men/30 women), were invited to participate in this study after provided with informed consent.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Sixty healthy individuals, aged 50 to 80 years (30 men/30 women), were invited to participate in this study after provided with informed consent and were included in this study. Also, all participants were of a sedentary lifestyle, with little or no physical activity during daily routine activities like work and transportation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • To ensure accurate results, participants with obesity (BMI) ≥35 kg/m2.), physical impairments, movement limitations, chronic illnesses, such as kidney or liver diseases, or severe diabetes-related complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy, neuromuscular issues, cardiopulmonary conditions, or disorders affecting eating, the endocrine system, immune system, or mental health or those who undergoing glucocorticoid medication were excluded from this study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
participants with cognitive impairment
subjects with cognitive imparment as measured by the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) battery.
healthy goup
Subjects are healthy without any diseases and are normal as estimated by the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) battery.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Assessment of cognitive abilities
Time Frame: 6 months
Trained research assistants assessed the cognitive abilities of older adult's pre and post supervised aerobic exercise using the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) battery. Assessments required between 45 and 90 minutes.
6 months
2- Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA)
Time Frame: 6 months
A verified questionnaire was utilized to assess physical activity, specifically focusing on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). In alignment with previous findings, we measured the weekly energy expenditure in terms of metabolic equivalents per hour per week (T-LPTA-MET/H/W
6 months
3-Assessment of apoptotic-related proteins
Time Frame: 6 month
Blood serum samples were collected from all participants in the early hours after a night of fasting, both before and after the exercise training regimen, to analyze apoptosis-related proteins. Immunoassay methods were used to measure serum Bcl-2 and cytochrome c levels. This involved using ELISA kits specifically designed for Bcl-2 (Cat# QIA23, Oncogene Research Products, Germany) and cytochrome c (Zymed ELISA Kit, Cat. No. 99-0040). Furthermore, the quantification of p53 concentration in the serum was determined utilizing a single-step enzyme-immunoassay ELISA kit (Catalog Number 11 828 789 001; Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Roche Applied Science, Germany) based on photometric methods.
6 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
biochemical analysis of hormones, antioxidant enzymes, before and after exercise training
Time Frame: 6 month
The levels of Leptin, Irisin, BDNF hormones, antioxidant status, and inflammatory cytokines were identified from the serum of all subjects, healthy and cognitively impaired subjects, before and after exercise sessions
6 month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

King Saud University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sami Gabr, Medical Microbiology Dept, ImmunityUnit,Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 15, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

November 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 6, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RRC-2023-029

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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