The physical activity and Alzheimer's disease (PAAD) study: Cognitive outcomes

Abstract

Background Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that degrades cognitive functioning and ultimately results in death. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease and, hence, the identification of preventative strategies is important. Physical activity (PA) is a behavioral intervention that holds promise with respect to delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the differential cognitive benefits achieved in response to PA as a function of a person's genetic risk for AD. Methods Older cognitively normal adults (50-65 years) with a family history of AD (FHxAD) participated in an 8-month PA program. Cognitive performance was measured at baseline, pretest, midtest, and posttest and changes over time were assessed as a function of apoli-poprotein E (APOE) status (carriers: 1-2 copies of the ϵ4 allele; noncarriers: 0 copies of the ϵ4 allele). Results Improvements in memory were associated with PA participation irrespective of APOE ϵ4 carrier status. Conclusions Future experimental studies are needed to confirm that PA causes improvements to cognitive performance in older cognitively normal adults with a FHxAD and that these improvements are equivalent for cognitively normal APOE ϵ4 carriers and noncarriers.