Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021;80(1):233-244.
doi: 10.3233/JAD-201100.

Cognitive Effects of Aerobic Exercise in Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Fang Yu  1 , David M Vock  1 , Lin Zhang  1 , Dereck Salisbury  2 , Nathaniel W Nelson  3 , Lisa S Chow  4 , Glenn Smith  5 , Terry R Barclay  6 , Maurice Dysken  4 , Jean F Wyman  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Cognitive Effects of Aerobic Exercise in Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Fang Yu et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2021.

Abstract

Background: Aerobic exercise has shown inconsistent cognitive effects in older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia.

Objective: To examine the immediate and longitudinal effects of 6-month cycling on cognition in older adults with AD dementia.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial randomized 96 participants (64 to cycling and 32 to stretching for six months) and followed them for another six months. The intervention was supervised, moderate-intensity cycling for 20-50 minutes, 3 times a week for six months. The control was light-intensity stretching. Cognition was assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months using the AD Assessment Scale-Cognition (ADAS-Cog). Discrete cognitive domains were measured using the AD Uniform Data Set battery.

Results: The participants were 77.4±6.8 years old with 15.6±2.9 years of education, and 55% were male. The 6-month change in ADAS-Cog was 1.0±4.6 (cycling) and 0.1±4.1 (stretching), which were both significantly less than the natural 3.2±6.3-point increase observed naturally with disease progression. The 12-month change was 2.4±5.2 (cycling) and 2.2±5.7 (control). ADAS-Cog did not differ between groups at 6 (p = 0.386) and 12 months (p = 0.856). There were no differences in the 12-month rate of change in ADAS-Cog (0.192 versus 0.197, p = 0.967), memory (-0.012 versus -0.019, p = 0.373), executive function (-0.020 versus -0.012, p = 0.383), attention (-0.035 versus -0.033, p = 0.908), or language (-0.028 versus -0.026, p = 0.756).

Conclusion: Exercise may reduce decline in global cognition in older adults with mild-to-moderate AD dementia. Aerobic exercise did not show superior cognitive effects to stretching in our pilot trial, possibly due to the lack of power.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; cognition; dementia; exercise; physical activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ disclosures available online (https://www.j-alz.com/manuscript-disclosures/20-1100r2).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Enrollment CONSORT Diagram for the FIT-AD Trial.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
CONSORT Diagram for the ADAS-Cog.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Alzheimer’s Association (2020) 2020 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement 16, 391–460. - PubMed
    1. McGurran H, Glenn JM, Madero EN, Bott NT (2019) Prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: Biological mechanisms of exercise. J Alzheimers Dis 69, 311–338. - PubMed
    1. da Costa Daniele TM, deBruin PFC, de Matos RS, de Bruin GS, Maia Chaves C Junior, de Bruin VMS (2020) Exercise effects on brain and behavior in healthy mice, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease model-a systematic review and meta-analysis. Behav Brain Res 383, 112488. - PubMed
    1. Arcoverde C, Deslandes A, Moraes H, Almeida C, de Araujo NB, Vasques PE, Silveira H, Laks J (2014) Treadmill training as an augmentation treatment for Alzheimer’s disease: A pilot randomized controlled study. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 72, 190–196. - PubMed
    1. Bossers WJR, van der Woude LH, Boersma F, Hortobágyi T, Scherder EJ, van Heuvelen MJ (2015) A 9-week aerobic and strength training program improves cognitive and motor function in patients with dementia: A randomized, controlled trial. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 23, 1106–1116. - PubMed

Publication types