ShareThisSALT LAKE CITY -- There is no proven treatment yet for Alzheimer's disease. But growing evidence shows that regular exercise may delay its onset and progression -- a theory researchers at LDS Hospital plan to put to the test.The research team is seeking older adults to participate in the Brain Builders program, a controlled study of how exercise affects adults ages 65 to 89 who have been diagnosed with memory loss consistent with mild Alzheimer's.Volunteers, who should be in generally good health, will be placed in two groups: one that will exercise regularly and one that won't.Participants will have their memory, thinking ability, activities and attitudes measured at the start of the program and again at the conclusion of the study, which is expected to last five to six months.Those in the exercise group also will have blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels monitored to ensure workouts are not too hard.Other studies, in animals and people, have shown that exercise and an enriched environment may slow the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, which is caused by a buildup of proteins in the brain. It affects about 4.5 million people in the United States.That number is projected to climb to about 16 million by 2050, as baby boomers age. The disease causes memory loss and, in time, is incapacitating. There is no known cure, but new drug treatments have been able to slow its progression.Most previous studies were observational in nature, comparing Alzheimer's rates in people who happen to exercise versus those who did not, said Kelly Davis-Garrett, principal investigator and a clinical neuropsychologist.Those studies have shown that exercise reduced by half the risk of Alzheimer's. But the findings may have been biased because people who choose to exercise regularly tend to be healthier and better educated."What we're doing at LDS Hospital is treating exercise as a treatment for mild-stage probable Alzheimer's disease," Davis-Garrett said.The study is being run like a drug trial, with randomized assignment to the exercise treatment, she said.People in the exercise group will be given an individualized program that combines strength training and aerobics. They will be asked to exercise three times a week, typically for 30 minutes to 60 minutes.The program has five enrollees but Davis-Garrett hopes to sign up 170 participants.Two people have completed the study."The research on animals suggests that we may be able to harness the body's own ability to clear the Alzheimer's disease pathology, to clear those sticky proteins in the brain," Davis-Garrett said.The animal studies show that exercise promotes formation of new brain cells and new connections between those cells, particularly in the area of the brain associated with new memories."That is ground zero for where the Alzheimer's pathology takes hold in the early stages," she said. "If we can translate that animal work to humans, that is an amazing thing."(To get more information about the Brain Builders study at LDS Hospital, go to www.intermountainhealthcare.org/brainbuilders.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Study will test effect of exercise on Alzheimer's sufferers
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