Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Exercise verses Alzheimer's and related dementias


By Jeremy Manier | Chicago Tribune reporter
August 5, 2008
Some nuggets of health advice seem so intuitive and appealing that you would think they just have to be valid. A recent example is the idea that physical exercise can hold off Alzheimer's disease or slow the progression of symptoms in people who have been diagnosed.

Some preliminary research suggests that exercise can improve brain function, but many doctors are not ready to say that at-risk patients should begin a workout regimen.

Being more fit never hurts, but there's no hard evidence yet that starting an exercise plan can affect an elderly patient's risk of dementia or improve the condition once it starts, said Dr. David Bennett, director of the Alzheimer's disease center at Rush University Medical Center.

Not a treatment
"It's not something I'm going to put on a prescription pad for my patients," Bennett said. "Healthy patterns of behavior probably need to start earlier in life."

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

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