Aerobic exercise may help slow memory loss for older adults with Alzheimer’s dementia

Promising new research shows that aerobic exercise may help slow memory loss for older adults living with Alzheimer’s dementia.

ASU Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation Professor Fang Yu led a randomized controlled trial that included 96 older adults living with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s depression.

Participants were randomly assigned to cycle (stationery bike) or stretch for six months. Using the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Cognition Scale (ADAS-Cog) to assess comprehension, the results of the test were substantial.

The six-month change in ADAS-Cog was 1.0 ± 4.6 (cycling) and 0.1 ± 4.1 (stretching), both of which were significantly lower than the naturally expected 3.2 ± 6.3-point increase with improvement disease.

“Our main findings show that a six-month aerobic exercise intervention significantly reduced mental decline compared to the natural course of changes for Alzheimer’s depression. However, we did not find a better effect of aerobic exercise on stretching, apparently due to the pilot nature of our experiment.We do not have statistical power to detect differences between groups, the social group had a large social interaction effect, and many extended participants did aerobic exercise on their own. ” Yu said.

The findings are outlined in a recently published article, Cognitive Effects of Aerobic Exercise in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease.

Yu says their results are encouraging and support the clinical relevance of promoting aerobic exercise in individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia to maintain experience.

Aerobic imaging has a low profile of adverse events in older adults with Alzheimer’s depression as confirmed by our experiment. Whatever its impact on psychology, the current general evidence on its benefits supports the use of aerobic exercise as an additional treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. “

Fang Yu, Professor adn ASU Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation

Source:

Magazine Reference:

Fang, Y., et al. (2021) Psychological effects of aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease: a randomized controlled pilot trial. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease. doi.org/10.3233/JAD-201100.

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