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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1435996
This article is part of the Research Topic Lifestyle and Healthy Aging to Prevent Cognitive Decline and Dementia View all 26 articles
Evaluation of the efficacy of Tai Chi on the cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive dysfunction and research on its mechanism
Provisionally accepted- 1 Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
- 2 Chengdu Eighth People’s Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Studies have revealed that Tai Chi can enhance cognitive functions among patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the precise mechanisms underlying this improvement remain elusive. Consequently, we conducted a study involving 54 elderly inpatients with MCI residing in a combined medical and elderly care facility in Chengdu, who were randomly divided into three groups: a control group engaging in daily living activities, a Tai Chi group that performed Tai Chi exercises in addition to control group activities, and a walking group that undertook walking activities as a supplement to the control group regimen. The intervention period lasted for 24 weeks, comprising 12 weeks of exercise and an additional 12 weeks of follow-up. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Moca), Trail Making Test-A (TMT-A), Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), and biochemical assessments (measuring brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF, and platelet factor 4, PF4) were administered to investigate overall cognitive function, executive function, memory capacity, and changes in serum concentrations of BDNF and PF4 before, after, and during the follow-up period. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 26.0, with statistical methods encompassing descriptive analysis, ANOVA, rank-sum test, repeated measures ANOVA, and generalized estimating equations. Our findings indicated that after 24 weeks of intervention, the Tai Chi group exhibited improvements in cognitive function, executive function, and memory compared to the control group. This enhancement may be attributed to an increased expression of serum BDNF. In conclusion, our study underscores the potential of Tai Chi in ameliorating cognitive function among elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment, thereby offering significant implications for clinical prevention and treatment strategies targeting this condition.
Keywords: Tai Chi, MCI, BDNF, Cognitive Function, PF4
Received: 21 May 2024; Accepted: 10 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 He, wen, Liu, Fei, Li, Li and Lin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lin Lin, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
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