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Intensive exercise slowed progress of Alzheimer’s disease

An intense group- or home-based exercise program has beneficial effects for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, without increasing the cost of care, according to study results.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland investigated the therapeutic effects of intense exercise in 210 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, split into three trial groups: a home-based exercise group (HE), a group-based exercise group (GE), and a control group receiving normal care with no changes to the patients’ activity.

After 1 year, the control group exhibited a much faster deterioration than the exercise-based groups. At 12 months of exercise, the HE group showed a Functional Independence Measure (FIM) change of –7.1 (95% CI, –3.7 to –10.5), the GE group showed an FIM of –10.3 (95% CI, –6.7 to –13.9), and the control group showed an FIM of –14.4 (95% CI, –10.9 to –18). The total costs of health and social services in 1 year were $25,112 for the HE group, $22,066 for the GE group, and $34,121 for the control group. The exercise groups also experienced significantly fewer falls in the follow-up year than the control group.

According to the researchers, these results suggest that intense exercise, regimented in a program, alleviates deterioration in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

“This intervention provides new means of helping patients with dementia and their families maintain their way of life longer without increasing the total use or costs of health and social services,” they wrote.

A previous study found that a dual physical/mental exercise program led to significant improvements in cognitive function in older adults.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.