Role of physical activity on the maintenance of cognition and activities of daily living in elderly with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

-Background:The practice of physical activities has proved to be an efficient strategy in the improvement of independency and cognitive functions in the elderly with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective: To evaluate the relation between the practice of physical activity, cognition and activities of daily living (ADL) of patients with AD. Method: The cognitive and physical aspects and ADL were evaluated of 37 elders (19 normal controls, 11 sedentary with AD and 7 active with AD). Results: The variable that best predicts the cognitive state (MMSE) is the duration of disease for the AD sedentary group and Lawton's Scale for the AD active group. We observed a correlation between MMSE score and duration of disease in the sedentary group and between MMSE and ADL in the active group. Conclusion: Our study showed that physical and cognitive stimulation in patients with AD can contribute to decrease cognitive and functional decline.KEy WOrDS: Alzheimer's disease, cognition, ADL, physical exercise, mobility. Papel da atividade física na manutenção da cognição e atividades de vida diária em idosos com doença de alzheimerResumo -Fundamento: A prática de atividade física tem se mostrado uma estratégia eficaz na melhora da independência e das funções cognitivas em idosos com doença de Alzheimer (DA). Objetivo: Avaliar a relação entre a prática de atividade física, a cognição e as atividades de vida diária (AVD) em pacientes com DA. Método: Foram avaliados os aspectos cognitivos, físicos e as AVD de 37 idosos (19 controles normais, 11 com DA sedentários e 7 com DA ativos). Resultados: A variável que melhor prediz o estado cognitivo (MEEM) foi o tempo de doença para o grupo DA sedentários e a Escala de Lawton para o grupo DA ativo. Observou-se correlação entre MEEM e tempo de doença no grupo sedentário e MEEM e AVD no grupo ativo. Conclusão: O nosso estudo mostrou que a estimulação física e cognitiva em pacientes com DA pode contribuir na diminuição do declínio cognitivo e funcional. PALAVrAS-chAVE: doença de Alzheimer, AVD, cognição, exercício físico, mobilidade. The practice of physical activity is associated to a lower prevalence and incidence of dementia and cognitive decline [1][2][3] . A recent study 1 found that healthy elderly who exercised regularly were 32% less prone to developing dementia than a control group of sedentary subjects. Low levels of functional capacity are associated with the risk of dementia whereas a three-day weekly exercise regimen seems to contribute to a protective effect. convincing evidence has also been presented regarding the improvement of the cognitive functioning with aerobic training independently of the type, duration, and intensity of the physical activity, mainly on the executive processes 4 . Activities of daily living (ADL) and cognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD) decline according to a temporal and parallel hierarchy 5 . Furthermore, the impairments on the ADL may be related to motor changes and neurological manifestations which occur along the progression of AD, such as ext...

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“…The beneficial effect of regular physical exercise on the cognitive function may be associated to a good performance of the functional capacity. There are consistent data from studies which show positive effects on the balance and fall risk after physical exercise in patients with dementia, including AD 3,4,7,10,11 . In our study, we have also found positive results on the balance and fall risk.…”

“…Compared to sedentary people, the individuals who practice physical exercises present a lower chance of developing dementia (28%) and AD (45%) 3 . Our laboratory has observed a positive correlation between improvement in activities of daily living (ADL) and in the overall cognitive state among people with dementia who still have an active lifestyle 4 . Moreover, there is increasing evidence to support an inverse relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and brain atrophy in the earliest clinical stages of AD.…”

“…Higher fitness levels in early AD patients were associated with preserved brain volume (less brain atrophy) independent of age 5 . Several studies have shown that physical training programs may have a role in the improvement of ADL, quality of life, depressive symptoms, and motor and cognitive function in patients with AD 3,4,[6][7][8][9][10][11] . However, some methodological questions may affect the application of the training protocols.…”

Physical activity and Management of Alzheimer’s Disease in Tunisian Male Older Adult Patients

“…Same, Heyn et al, (2003) and Coelho et al (2009) have shown physical activity in older that adults with Alzheimer's disease can contribute positively by attenuating decline in cognitive function. However, most studies involving physical activity and Alzheimer disease have used general or aerobic training protocols (Arcoverde et al, 2008;Hernandez et al, 2010). Thereafter, Smith et al (2013) and Rolland et al (2000) showed that endurance exercise, walking or cycle ergometer, improved overall cognitive functions assessed by the MMSE and memory capacity as a main factor for the recognition of the level of Alzheimer's disease in older adults.…”

A percepção da doença de Alzheimer pelos estudantes da F.F.C. “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” da Unesp – Marília

“…Neste estudo, mencionamos, como exemplo, os trabalhos realizados por Arcoverde et al (2008) e Sachs et al (2009).…”