The Effects Of Different Types Of Physical Activity And Exercise Training On Prevention And Treatment Of Alzheimer 's Disease

In this world, media have taken over our lives. People tend to believe everything that they see on social media. Scientists believe there are ways people can strengthen their brains. The science article is called Exercise, cognition, and the aging, brain; by Arthur F. Kramer, Kirk I. Erickson and Stanley J. Colcombe. The media article is called Can You Build a Better Brain? It was written by Sharon Begley and Ian Yarett. The media article does not do a good job of evaluating the important scientific information; the media article never mentions a majority of what it should have. This paper will show the public that there might be some things that the media articles are not telling us.

Participation in physical activity has been shown to have many health benefits for older adults; this study does not provide strong support that it protects against cognitive decline. Reports have been made that physical activity may help guard against stroke and coronary heart disease, both of which may be associated with the development of dementia. Some studies were either limited in their scope or had short follow-up times. In all they find that for older adults, physical activity alone may not protect against cognitive decline. (By Charnicia E. Huggins: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/exerciseforseniors.html)

Among these are increasing physical activity, having a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, maintaining social engagement, and participating in intellectually stimulating activities. I informed her that the approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are designed to enhance the communication between nerve cells. In some individuals, this will lessen the symptoms. However, these treatments will not prevent the progression of the disease.

In conclusion, there are many ways that have been proved scientifically on how exercising regularly, having a quality sleep and practicing Mediterranean diet on daily basis can help us to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Before I end my speech, bear in mind that the number of Alzheimer’s disease in this world is expected to rise to 131.5 million by 2050. If we don't take a prompt action now, we may settle for nothing later. Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) axiom that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of

Alzheimer 's disease (AD) is an irreversible and incurable form of dementia characterized by rapid cell death, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuritic plaques (Cavanaugh, Blanchard-Fields, & Norris, 2008). Structures of the brain affected by rapid cell death includes the hippocampus, the cerebral cortex, and the forebrain (Cavanaugh et al., 2008). A definitive diagnosis of AD is made only at autopsy (Cavanaugh et al., 2008). As AD progresses, memory and ultimately self-identity are destroyed, however, interventions can improve the quality of life of older adults (Cavanaugh et al., 2008). Interventions in AD should focus on helping patients make the most effective use of their functioning (Cavanaugh et al., 2008). A non-pharmacological intervention by Bredesen (2014) appears to be restoring some cognitive function in some patients with AD (Dador, 2014). Bredesen (2014) asserts that some of the effects of cognitive decline can be reversed through his therapeutic program. Jimbo, Kimura, Taniguchi, Inoue, and Urakami (2009) also assert the potential of non-pharmacological interventions. They found that aromatherapy has the potential to improve cognitive function. Other non-pharmacological interventions such as exercise or physical activity (PA) have been studied for their effects in cognitive decline (Farina, Rusted, & Tabet, 2014; Tortosa-Martinez & Clow, 2012). This paper explores the effects of non-pharmacological interventions in cognitive decline associated with AD.

This article is about the prevention of the Alzheimer’s risk. Alzheimer disease is also called senile dementia. It is a disease where people lost their memories. This research was done at UCLA Medical Center and University of Pittsburgh. The researchers gathered the participants to do experiment on whether the physical activities benefits to reduce the Alzheimer’s risk. According to the article, the outcome of the experiment showed that increase in physical activities related with larger brain volumes. “Individuals experiencing this brain benefit from increasing their physical activity experienced a 50% reduction in their risk of Alzheimer's dementia.” The researchers actually prove that if you increase your physical activity, then there is

Smith et al. (2013) took a less studied approach to improving cognitive decline by testing the effects of aerobic exercise on adults (60-88 years old) already suffering from cognitive impairment. After 12 weeks of moderate exercise there was an improvement of memory and neural efficiency across all subjects.

Dementia is a debilitating disease that slowly destroys the mind from within, slowly destroying people's memories, movement and cognitive ability until taking the person's life. With a steady decline from two to three years and a more aggressive decline from three year to five years where it enters its final stage, normally resulting in death (Willis, Tennstedt, Marsiske, Ball, Elias, Koepkem, Morris, Rebok, Unverzagt, Stoddard & Wright, 2006). However while currently there is no cure for Dementia, during the two to three year span the disease can be delayed and symptoms can be minimised through a form of treatment (Willis et al., 2006;Gates, Sachdev, Singh & Valenzuela, 2011). Known as Cognitive training, defined as the targeting of specific areas of cognitive function through specific techniques to help delay the symptoms of Dementia (Jean, Bergeron, Tbivirge & Simard, 2010).

Little information is known about the use of treadmill running to attenuate or reverse the cognitive decline due to Alzheimer Disease. The study reviewed in this paper by Jinkyung et. al set out to determine if exercise can prevent cognitive decline in the early and late stages of Alzheimer Disease. Benefits to using exercise as a non-pharmacological method of offsetting the effects of this disease include little to no side effects for the patient; low cost to patient and health care system; exercise may have a preventative factor to Alzheimer Disease, unlike pharmacological treatments. Previous studies have reviewed voluntary wheel running in triple transgenic mice (3xTG-AD), the current study is the first to examine the effects of treadmill running in the 3xTG-AD mice.

Alzheimer is the most common type of dementia that refers to problems with memory, thinking and behavior typically among people aged 65 and older (Alzheimer’s Association.) Dementia is caused by damage to nerve sells in the brain and as a result, neurons can no long function normally and may die. In Alzheimer’s disease, the impairment of the neurons eventually damages one’s ability to carry out basic everyday activities such as walking and eating. According to the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, physical exercise can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by up to 50 percent. After developing cognitive problems, regular exercise will help to slow further deterioration. For example, someone that has developed symptoms should take the stairs instead of the elevators as a way to add more movement into their day. It is imperative to acknowledge symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease sooner rather than later so that a health provider can recommend proper treatment options. These symptoms develop over time and gradually worsen over the years.

The caregivers at the day center provide an exercise program to help elders maintain their physical well-being. The exercise program consists of stretching and walking 20-30 minutes a day to help promote independence and prevent falls. Caregivers also focus on improving and maintaining ADL’s. The caregivers use a skill training approach. The skill training approach helps the elders have a goal to achieve. “Results show that elders with dementia that received skill training achieved the highest improvement in ADL performance (Van Ort, 2011)”.

Out of the rapidly inclining population in the world, there are people who develop dementia every 66 seconds(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Being such a common disease in the elderly, there are 47.5 million people in the world with this disease(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Once families start to realize that their parents and grandparents have developed this, they start to wonder if they are able to live on their own. Within a few months, a decision is made whether if it is best for them to be put into a nursing home. Most often, those with dementia do happen to end up in nursing homes. Many wonder if being put into a nursing home will actually cause their dementia and their ability to live on their own to worsen. With the effects of activities, this could change. Activities help slow the deterioration of the brain(Smith). The activities and exercises performed by nursing homes to help improve the overall cognitive development in dementia patients. Nursing homes should induct purposeful daily activities to improve cognitive, social, and psychological development in dementia care

The acute exercise group primarily focuses on acute physical exercise. Scholars in this section examine the implications of intense exercise on the cognitive functions of the body. Kashihara, Maruyama, Murota, & Nakahara believe that acute physical exercise might have a positive effect on cognitive task but emphasize that there are mysterious mechanisms behind this relationship. However, Zimmer, Binnebößel, Bloch, Hübner, Schenk, Predel, & Oberste express slightly divergent views by pointing out that exhaustive exercise may be counterproductive, especially is some cognitive activities like planning. Zimmer and his group also argue that his sentiments have been supported by previous scholars, who maintained that acute exercise affects memory

The expansive age range brought diversity to the trial to test generalization to the public. With adults’ aged 18 to 60, the intervention tested the ability to increase cognitive skills in those with growing brain capacity, as well as declining memory. In addition, the large sample size of 11,430 allowed for greater diversity allowing for universal application of the results (Owen et al., 2010). Furthermore, the six-week time frame allowed for an investigation into the immediate results. Since most people prefer for results to start up front, a short-term study has the strength of foreseeing the likelihood of appeal to the public. Many adults lead hectic lifestyles and dedicating time to an activity that doesn’t produce results after six weeks will be looked at as a waste of time. In addition, researchers discovered from calculations that intense online cognitive training would need to occur for four years before scores noted significant improvement (Owen et al., 2010). Owen’s study proves to be the strongest research due to the extensive age range, sample size, and the appropriate length to test if the time investment is dignified

The articles by Erikson et al., Gatz, Korol et al., and Draganski et al. explore the concept of increased physical activity and/or mental activity having effects on the cognitive function and development or deterioration of the brain as we age. Although I agree that physical exercise is critical in increasing cognitive function because of the health benefits it provides, as well as the increased blood flow and circulation throughout the body, I ultimately believe that a healthy brain is not achieved solely by physical exercise or mental exercise, but both. I think there is a link between physical and mental exercise, and that the combination of these two activities creates higher cognitive functioning of the mind as well as the body. The mind and body come together and meet to make an overall healthy individual.