Alzheimer’s Foundation of America reports that about 5.1 million Seniors in America suffer from the degenerative disease. These stats make it one of the most pressing concerns a lot of Americans have as they get older. This illness is one that has no form of treatment. The best bet is to either prevent the disease from happening or to manage it when it develops.
Over the years, a lot of money has been poured into the research of the best palliative measures for managing incurable diseases like Alzheimer’s that are associated with old age. As a result, one of the most important and groundbreaking innovations in geriatric healthcare was created. This new innovation is known as Adult Day Care Software.
The Adult Day Care Software can be used to monitor the activities of seniors to ensure that they practice habits that are only beneficial for their health.
One of the activities that adult care Software monitors is the level of physical activity that seniors partake in.
This is particularly important for Alzheimer’s patients. Exercise and physical activity has been known to help reduce the degenerative effects of the disease.
In fact, a growing body of research has shown that exercise can help reduce the risk of people developing the disease. It has been regarded as one of the six pillars of Alzheimer’s Prevention.
The Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Society have stated that regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by up to 50%.
This claim by the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Society have been confirmed by a growing body of research.
Amyloid beta is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. It is responsible for the killing of neurons in the brains of dementia patients. Researchers from UT Southwestern discovered that people who had an accumulation of amyloid beta in the brain experienced slower cognitive degeneration if they exercised regularly for one year.
It is important that exercise did not stop the spread of amyloid beta. However, the findings suggest that physical activity can slow down the effects of the disease if intervention is done in the early stages of the disease.
It is important to note that this research does not conclusively state that regular exercise will stop the amyloid clumping in the brain of dementia patients.
Dr Ring Zhang, the conductor of the clinical trial said that if the findings of the research would be replicated in a larger trial, regular exercise could be an important part of therapy for high risk patients. He also stated that there was no ‘harm in doing so now’.
Fitness and brain health
All in all, the importance of fitness in brain health cannot be underemphasized. It seems to be an ace up the sleeves of researchers in search of dementia therapies.By 2050, it has been estimated that the number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s will triple. An encouraging study in 2018 showed that there was a faster deterioration of vital nerve fibers in the brain of people with low fitness levels.
Similarly, Research has shown that rats that engaging in a lot of physical activity experience a slower deterioration of brain the hippocampus. These findings have promoted scientists like Dr. Zhang to figure out whether it has the same effect on people.
