Impact of Physical Activity on Successful Aging

Summary

Emerging literature suggests that vascular factors might be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Other recent studies demonstrate the positive effects of physical activity on cognitive and behavioral disturbances of patients with AD. Therefore, it has been postulated that exercise enchantment in cerebral circulation is the physiological mechanism that link physical exercise and reduction of AD symptoms. Consequently, a program of physical activity could be considered one approach to counteract dementia by improving cerebrovascular health.

However at this moment, it is not clear if the progressive brain vascular dysfunction and hypoperfusion, associated with the β-amyloid deposition, might be reversed or stabilized by an exercise intervention.

The aim of this study is to assess, in patients with AD, the influence of physical exercise, compared to cognitive stimulation, on:

* Cognitive function;
* Independence in daily living and behavioral symptoms;
* Vascular function Finally, to investigate the physiological processes on the basis of the motor parameters' changes, the performances of the patients will be compared with the performances of healthy young and old subjects.

MAIN OBJECTIVE: Investigate, in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and AD, the effects of a physical activity program, or cognitive stimulation on global cognitive function.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: Investigate the effects of the two treatments on:

* cognitive and motor performances,
* independence in activities of daily living,
* behavioral symptoms,
* peripheral vascular function.

Conditions

• Alzheimer Disease
• Cognitive Impairment
• Physical Activity

Interventions

OTHER

Physical activity (PA)

It will perform a program consist of 15 min of warm-up, 60 min of aerobic and resistance training, and 15 min of cool-down.

OTHER

cognitive treatment (CT)

The cognitive stimulation group will received a rehabilitation program with multimodal repetitive stimulation in order to exercise and reinforce the cognitive skills of the participant to slow/prevent the decline. In particular the treatment will be focused on reorient the patient about his/her-self, his/her history and his/her environment, to improve the memory skill by teaching compensatory and restitutive strategies, to help the patient to the discussion about everyday life and in particular to the everyday problems

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universita di Verona

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nicola Smania · Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences

• Federico Schena · Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Max Age

90 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2013-09-30

Primary Completion

2016-05-31

Completion

2016-10-31