Aerobic may help slow memory loss for Alzheimer’s dementia patients

New York, Feb 27 : Aerobic exercise may help slow memory loss for older adults living with Alzheimers dementia, says a new research.

The findings indicates that a six-month aerobic exercise intervention significantly reduced cognitive decline in comparison to the natural course of changes for Alzheimers dementia.

However, the researchers didnt find a superior effect of aerobic exercise to stretching."Aerobic exercise has a low profile of adverse events in older adults with Alzheimers dementia as demonstrated by our trial," said researcher Fang Yu from the Arizona State University.

"Regardless of its effect on cognition, the current collective evidence on its benefits supports the use of aerobic exercise as an additional therapy for Alzheimers disease," Yu added.For the study, published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease, the research team included 96 older adults living with mild to moderate Alzheimers dementia for a pilot randomized control trial.

Participants were randomized to either a cycling (stationary bike) or stretching intervention for six months.Using the Alzheimers Disease Assessment Scale-Cognition (ADAS-Cog) to assess cognition, the results of the trial were substantial.

The researchers said that their results are encouraging and support the clinical relevance of promoting aerobic exercise in individuals with Alzheimers dementia to maintain cognition.