The observation made after using animal models for Alzheimer disease (AD) indicated that physical exercise is the best practice that is required to alter the pathophysiologic processes and trajectories. Most studies carried out have mainly focused on the effect of physical activity on the cognition of older adults. The current concentrates on the influence of physical exercise on Alzheimer disease biomarkers (Kenshole, Gallichan, Pahl & Clibbens, 2017). The biomarkers for AD disease provide a full representation of the various metabolic and biochemical profiles of the brain. Increased exercise greatly influences the preserved volume of the AD-vulnerable structures. Physical exercise results in an evolvement in the body and hence physical activity can modify the age-associated alterations in the compositions of the brain which are vulnerable to AD.
Purpose
The research question of the study is to investigate whether engagement in physical activity results to age-associated alterations of the main biomarkers of the AD pathophysiological process in the late middle-aged adults (Singh-Manoux, Hillsdon, Brunner & Marmot, 2005). The research hypothesis is that physical exercise plays a significant role in the prevention of AD through the alteration of the age-related AD biomarkers.
Procedures
Three hundred and seventeen normal adults in terms of their cognition were used in the study. These participants consisted of the cognitively healthy adults between the ages of 40 to 65. The three hundred and seventeen participants were supplied with questionnaires which they duly completed (Okonkwo, Schultz, Oh, Larson, Edwards, Cook & Bendlin, 2014). They were also given MRI brain scans and neuropsychological evaluation. All the participants who had PET imaging went through the MRI process. Participants also completed the Women’s Health Initiative Physical Activities questionnaire. The questionnaires examined the frequency and the time taken while walking outside the home. The participants were also provided with the neuropsychological battery that was initially segregated into six cognitive factors.
Results
The study showed that the late middle-aged adults who are at risk of AD and are physically active experiences fewer alterations in the AD biomarkers as compared to those who are physically inactive. The study also investigated that age is a general factor and even more influential than FH in the explanation of variations among individuals in the AD biomarkers. Physical activity is essential in the maintenance of cognitive function and in delaying the development of AD and other related diseases among adults. Aerobic training is vital among the adults since it results in an increased volume of the hippocampal (Okonkwo, Schultz, Oh, Larson, Edwards, Cook & Bendlin, 2014). There is a relationship between the cardiorespiratory fitness and index of habitual physical activity together with the hippocampal value. Autopsy studies have revealed that there exists a strong gradient of age to the severity of the AD biomarkers.AD results from intricate Interactions among numerous molecular changes which are age-related where some are programmed, and others are stochastic. Entropy elevation is considered as the ultimate pathway to the continuous neural and cognitive reduction that characterizes AD. The theoretical models are essential in the generation of testable hypotheses that enhances our understanding of the strong co-variation that emerges between clinical and pathologic features of AD.
Conclusion
The study revealed that the deleterious effect of aging on AD biomarkers and cognition is increased among the physically active middle-aged adults at risk for AD. The physical inactive adults, on the other hand, are much more susceptible to the AD effects. According to the study increased physical activity among adults is likely to reduce the impact of AD among these adults. Physical activity ameliorates age-associated pathophysiological changes that occur within the AD cascade. Physical activity increases the ability to produce a causal influence on the cognitive trajectories in the people at risk of AD (Okonkwo, Schultz, Oh, Larson, Edwards, Cook & Bendlin, 2014). The study revealed that those individuals who are at a higher risk to be affected by AD are the middle-aged adults who are physically inactive. If the results of the study are to be supported by other controlled studies, then it implies that physical activity is a practical approach to AD prevention and this is relevant to the risk-enrich middle-aged adults. In the middle-aged at-risk cohorts, physically active lifestyles contribute to the attenuation of the deleterious impact of age on essential biomarkers of the AD pathophysiology (Singh-Manoux, Hillsdon, Brunner & Marmot, 2005). Since the cross-sectional design of the study does not create randomized controlled trials, longitudinal studies should be conducted to establish whether involvement in a structured physical exercise prevents the development of AD and other related disorders in life.
Evaluation
The author has established a satisfactory conclusion that supports the research hypothesis. All the research methods applied have indicated that increased involvement in physical activity can alter the age-dependent variable of AD and other cognitive changes in the cohort at risk. The study diligently uses the responses of participants on current levels of physical activity to differentiate the participants as either physically active or inactive (Okonkwo, Schultz, Oh, Larson, Edwards, Cook & Bendlin, 2014). The study is essential in the understanding of how physical exercise assists in fighting AD. It has provided evidence through a study of participants using a TI MRI. The participants also completed a neuropsychological battery to indicate how physical exercise alters the biomarkers of the brain among the at-risk cohorts.
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