Intermountain Press Release

Salt Lake City—Researchers at LDS Hospital this week are launching a major new study to determine whether regular exercise can help boost the brain power of people who've been diagnosed with memory loss consistent with mild-stage Alzheimer's disease.

The brain builder's study at LDS Hospital will help clinicians measure the impact, if any, that routine exercise can have in helping to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in people who've been diagnosed with memory loss. Those enrolled in the study will have their memory, thinking ability, activities, and attitudes tested and measured before and after the exercise portion of the study.

"Alzheimer's disease has no cure, but there are treatments that can help keep those with Alzheimer's stay as sharp as they are now for as long as possible," says Kelly Davis Garrett, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist with LDS Hospital's Geriatric Cognitive Clinic, and one of the study's principal investigators.

"We think exercise is one of those treatments, so those with Alzheimer's may be able to stay sharp, or to not lose their memory as quickly, as others with Alzheimer's because they've been in an exercise program," says Dr. Garrett. "On the other hand, there may not be any benefit of an exercise program to treat memory loss. We're doing this research study to help figure out if an exercise program can make a difference or not."

An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. The number of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's has more than doubled since 1980 and is expected to grow to nearly 15 million by 2050. It's anticipated that Utah will have the fastest growth rate of any state in new Alzheimer's cases in the years to come, at 127% increase. It's estimated that 50,000 Utahns will have Alzheimer's in 2025.

"The epidemic is coming. Utah needs to be prepared with state of the art treatment and care, including complementary approaches like combining medicine, exercise, and other brain stimulating activity," says Dr. Garrett.

The study is open to men and women ages 65 to 89 who have been diagnosed with memory loss (consistent with mild-stage Alzheimer's disease) and who are in good enough health to participate in an exercise program for three days a week for five to six months.

"Alzheimer's leaves sticky proteins in the brain that impair memory," says Cherie Brunker, M.D., Chief of Geriatric Medicine at LDS Hospital, who is also one of the study's investigators. "We're trying to harness the body's built-in ability to clear these sticky plaques and tangles through exercise."

Study participants will initially meet with an exercise physiologist who will review the person's medical history, discuss ways they would like to get aerobic and strength training, help them to identify goals that they can achieve, and teach them to use equipment properly and safely.

At the second and third sessions, exercise physiologists will use monitors to measure heart and lung response to exercise, and to ensure all participants' safety. Together, participants will build their own brain building program that gets their bodies moving, whatever their physical ability may be. Participants may start by doing exercises sitting, or step on the treadmill for brisk walking, depending on their individual abilities and preferences. Study participants will then complete 57 exercise sessions during the next five to six months.

Dr. Garrett says there is some evidence that exercise does provide some protection to Alzheimer's patients, but the connection is still not proven.

"We know that mice that are 'genetically programmed' to get Alzheimer's have slower progression of the disease and learn mazes faster if they have access to a running wheel compared to mice that don't. We are taking the next step, testing to see if exercise is a good treatment for Alzheimer's, to be prescribed like medicine," she says.

To enroll in the study or to get additional information on the study, please call LDS Hospital's Geriatric Cognitive Clinic at (801) 408-5498.