There is no cure yet and no vaccine. But new methods for staving off dementia and Alzheimer’s are continuing to emerge. Exercise has been identified as one way in which the disease might be delayed or lessened. And, while its effectiveness hasn’t yet been proven, the evidence is beginning to accumulate. The latest comes from a study that found patients with a rare inherited, early-onset form of the disease who exercised for at least 2.5 hours a week had better cognitive performance and fewer signs of Alzheimer’s than those who didn’t.

That study, published Tuesday, suggests that the benefits from exercise seen in Alzheimer’s patients might hold for even those who are at the highest risk of developing the disease. That supports suggestions from past studies that exercise has beneficial effects, including slowing the rate of cognitive decline in healthy people as well as those at risk of dementia and those who already have it. Some studies have even found exercise may be tied to a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s.