TDNet Discover

Background: Current medical practice offers limited options for the prevention of cognition degeneration in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This research sought to determine the impact of aerobic exercise on the cognition of Alzheimer’s Disease patients. Purpose: To determine if aerobic exercise has an effect on improving cognition in those > 50 years old diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition, to determine what length and type of aerobic exercise effectively improves cognition in those with Alzheimer’s Disease. Methods: Scientific research articles were assembled using inclusion and exclusion criteria described in the review. The articles were then screened using quality assessment tools and data extraction tools. Finally, 3 academic researchers reviewed the remaining articles and selected 3 articles to include in the academic review that best encompassed the targeted research question. Results: The research question results were determined to be inconclusive, however this study suggests that implementing aerobic exercise over short periods of time may improve clinical cognition scales in AD patients. Conclusion: Although this study identified that short durations of aerobic exercise can improve clinical cognition scales in AD patients, the improvement in scores was considered minor. Therefore, it is recommended that further research be performed to better support and quantify what types of aerobic exercise and what specific durations these exercises should be performed to improve cognition.