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Cardio Benefits People at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

Is there a link between cardiovascular fitness and markers related to Alzheimer’s disease?

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Alzheimers Disease and cardio

We now have even more reasons to promote efforts to maintain cardiorespiratory fitness, particularly in middle age. New research shows that proactively improving cardiovascular fitness in people at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease may benefit areas of the brain that are adversely affected by AD’s progression.

Scientists believe the most opportune time to modify the course of AD is before substantial brain tissue damage occurs. University of Wisconsin researchers therefore conducted a pilot study to evaluate the positive effects of fitness training for asymptomatic people genetically predisposed to the disease.

Results showed that a progressive 26-week program of 150 minutes per week (3 x 50 minutes) of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise significantly improved executive function and brain glucose metabolism, but not episodic memory, in a study with 23 subjects. More research on a larger scale is needed to validate these findings.

The study was published in Brain Plasticity  (2019; 5 [1], 83–95).


Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA

Shirley Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.

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