 
        Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University, School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan
Kazushige Ihara is a member of Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University, School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan. Kazushige Ihara writings are interesting and informative.
     
				
 Review Article   
								
																Psychosomatic Health in Elderly People for Preventing Frailty: The role of IGF-1 and BDNF in the Muscle and the Brain 
																Author(s): Mitsugu Hachisu*, Masayuki Obayashi, Mari Kogo and Kazushige Ihara             
								
																
						 The elderly population of people aged > 65 years is rapidly growing up in developed countries, including Japan, and
  becoming a burden by increasing caregiving and social security costs. Prolonging a healthy life span without caregiver
  help would reduce the social burden. Frailty in elderly people can cause accidental falls causing them to be bed
  ridden, but constant exercise could help prevent such accidents. Various exercises enhance the synthesis and release
  of neurotrophic factors such as IGF-1 and BDNF; these neurotrophic factors enhance neuronal growth and survival
  in the brain prevent muscle atrophy and sometimes contribute to muscle hypertrophy in elderly people. These
  exercise-induced neurotrophic factors can thereby help prevent the lowering of cognitive performance, processing
  speed and mood in elderly people including those with Alzheimer’s dis.. View more»