Vitamin E and aerobic exercise: effects on physical performance in older adults

This study aimed to assess the impact of malnutrition on the 5-year evolution of physical performance, muscle mass and muscle strength in participants from the SarcoPhAge cohort, consisting of community-dwelling older adults. The malnutrition status was assessed at baseline (T0) according to the “Global Leadership Initiatives on Malnutrition” (GLIM) criteria, and the muscle parameters were evaluated both at T0 and after five years of follow-up (T5). Lean mass, muscle strength and physical performance were assessed using dual X-ray absorptiometry, handgrip dynamometry, the short physical performance battery test and the timed up and go test, respectively. Differences in muscle outcomes according to nutritional status were tested using Student’s t-test. The association between malnutrition and the relative 5-year change in the muscle parameters was tested using multiple linear regressions adjusted for several covariates. A total of 411 participants (mean age of 72.3 ± 6.1 years, 56% women) were included. Of them, 96 individuals (23%) were diagnosed with malnutrition at baseline. Their muscle parameters were significantly lower than those of the well-nourished patients both at baseline and after five years of follow-up (all p-values < 0.05), except for muscle strength in women at T5, which was not significantly lower in the presence of malnutrition. However, the 5-year changes in muscle parameters of malnourished individuals were not significantly different than those of well-nourished individuals (all p-values > 0.05).

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Cognitive Effects of Aerobic Exercise in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-201100 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Fang Yu ◽

David M. Vock ◽

Lin Zhang ◽

Dereck Salisbury ◽

Nathaniel W. Nelson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Moderate Intensity ◽

Cognitive Effects ◽

Data Set ◽

Randomized Controlled

Background: Aerobic exercise has shown inconsistent cognitive effects in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. Objective: To examine the immediate and longitudinal effects of 6-month cycling on cognition in older adults with AD dementia. Methods: This randomized controlled trial randomized 96 participants (64 to cycling and 32 to stretching for six months) and followed them for another six months. The intervention was supervised, moderate-intensity cycling for 20–50 minutes, 3 times a week for six months. The control was light-intensity stretching. Cognition was assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months using the AD Assessment Scale-Cognition (ADAS-Cog). Discrete cognitive domains were measured using the AD Uniform Data Set battery. Results: The participants were 77.4±6.8 years old with 15.6±2.9 years of education, and 55%were male. The 6-month change in ADAS-Cog was 1.0±4.6 (cycling) and 0.1±4.1 (stretching), which were both significantly less than the natural 3.2±6.3-point increase observed naturally with disease progression. The 12-month change was 2.4±5.2 (cycling) and 2.2±5.7 (control). ADAS-Cog did not differ between groups at 6 (p = 0.386) and 12 months (p = 0.856). There were no differences in the 12-month rate of change in ADAS-Cog (0.192 versus 0.197, p = 0.967), memory (–0.012 versus –0.019, p = 0.373), executive function (–0.020 versus –0.012, p = 0.383), attention (–0.035 versus –0.033, p = 0.908), or language (–0.028 versus –0.026, p = 0.756). Conclusion: Exercise may reduce decline in global cognition in older adults with mild-to-moderate AD dementia. Aerobic exercise did not show superior cognitive effects to stretching in our pilot trial, possibly due to the lack of power.

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Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score as a discriminator of dynapenic abdominal obesity among community-dwelling older adults

Geriatric Nursing ◽

10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.02.016 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 467-472

Author(s):

Elane Priscila Rosa dos Santos ◽

Caroline Fátima Ribeiro Silva ◽

Daniela Gonçalves Ohara ◽

Areolino Pena Matos ◽

Ana Carolina Pereira Nunes Pinto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Physical Performance ◽

Abdominal Obesity ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Short Physical Performance Battery ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

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Neurocognitive Plasticity Is Associated with Cardiorespiratory Fitness Following Physical Exercise in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-201429 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Galit Yogev-Seligmann ◽

Tamir Eisenstein ◽

Elissa Ash ◽

Nir Giladi ◽

Haggai Sharon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Neuropsychological Tests ◽

Aerobic Training ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Control Group ◽

Memory Encoding

Background: Aerobic training has been shown to promote structural and functional neurocognitive plasticity in cognitively intact older adults. However, little is known about the neuroplastic potential of aerobic exercise in individuals at risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia. Objective: We aimed to explore the effect of aerobic exercise intervention and cardiorespiratory fitness improvement on brain and cognitive functions in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods: 27 participants with aMCI were randomized to either aerobic training (n = 13) or balance and toning (BAT) control group (n = 14) for a 16-week intervention. Pre- and post-assessments included functional MRI experiments of brain activation during associative memory encoding and neural synchronization during complex information processing, cognitive evaluation using neuropsychological tests, and cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. Results: The aerobic group demonstrated increased frontal activity during memory encoding and increased neural synchronization in higher-order cognitive regions such as the frontal cortex and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) following the intervention. In contrast, the BAT control group demonstrated decreased brain activity during memory encoding, primarily in occipital, temporal, and parietal areas. Increases in cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with increases in brain activation in both the left inferior frontal and precentral gyri. Furthermore, changes in cardiorespiratory fitness were also correlated with changes in performance on several neuropsychological tests. Conclusion: Aerobic exercise training may result in functional plasticity of high-order cognitive areas, especially, frontal regions, among older adults at risk of AD and dementia. Furthermore, cardiorespiratory fitness may be an important mediating factor of the observed changes in neurocognitive functions.

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Associations between vitamin E, oxidative stress markers, total homocysteine levels, and physical activity or cognitive capacity in older adults

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92076-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ahmad H. Alghadir ◽

Sami A. Gabr ◽

Shahnawaz Anwer ◽

Heng Li

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Physical Activity ◽

Nitric Oxide ◽

Older Adults ◽

Vitamin E ◽

Cognitive Capacity ◽

Oxidative Stress Markers ◽

Stress Markers ◽

Total Antioxidant ◽

Total Homocysteine

AbstractThis study examined the associations between vitamin E, oxidative stress markers, total homocysteine levels, and physical activity or cognitive capacity in older adults. One hundred and six older adults (62 men, 44 women) within the age range of 56–81 years participated. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment were used to assess physical activity and cognitive function, respectively. Vitamin E (e.g., α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol), oxidative stress markers (e.g., total antioxidant capacity and nitric oxide), and total homocysteine were estimated. There were significant associations between physical activity (high versus moderate versus poor) and all biomarkers (all p = 0.000, and p = 0.010 for γ-tocopherol). While total homocysteine and total antioxidant capacity were significantly associated with cognitive capacity (p = 0.000), vitamin E levels (e.g., α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol) and nitric oxide (p = 0.354, 0.103 and 0.060, respectively) were not related to cognitive capacity in older adults. This study concludes that physical activity was associated with Vitamin E, oxidative stress markers, total homocysteine, and cognitive capacity in older adults. Although cognitive capacity was associated with total homocysteine and total antioxidant capacity, it was unrelated to vitamin E levels and nitric oxide in older adults.

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The effect of a multicomponent exercise protocol (VIVIFRAIL©) on inflammatory profile and physical performance of older adults with different frailty status: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BMC Geriatrics ◽

10.1186/s12877-021-02030-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marina Petrella ◽

Ivan Aprahamian ◽

Ronei Luciano Mamoni ◽

Carla Fernanda de Vasconcellos Romanini ◽

Natália Almeida Lima ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Physical Performance ◽

Inflammatory Mediators ◽

Gait Speed ◽

Exercise Intervention ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Frailty Status ◽

Anti Inflammatory ◽

Inflammatory Profile

Abstract Background To investigate whether an exercise intervention using the VIVIFRAIL© protocol has benefits for inflammatory and functional parameters in different frailty status. Methods/design This is a randomized clinical trial in an outpatient geriatrics clinic including older adults ≥60 years. For each frailty state (frail, pre-frail and robust), forty-four volunteers will be randomly allocated to the control group (n = 22) and the intervention group (n = 22) for 12 weeks. In the control group, participants will have meetings of health education while those in the intervention group will be part of a multicomponent exercise program (VIVIFRAIL©) performed five times a week (two times supervised and 3 times of home-based exercises). The primary outcome is a change in the inflammatory profile (a reduction in inflammatory interleukins [IL-6, TNF- α, IL1beta, IL-17, IL-22, CXCL-8, and IL-27] or an increase in anti-inflammatory mediators [IL-10, IL1RA, IL-4]). Secondary outcomes are change in physical performance using the Short Physical Performance Battery, handgrip strength, fatigue, gait speed, dual-task gait speed, depressive symptoms, FRAIL-BR and SARC-F scores, and quality of life at the 12-week period of intervention and after 3 months of follow-up. Discussion We expect a reduction in inflammatory interleukins or an increase in anti-inflammatory mediators in those who performed the VIVIFRAIL© protocol. The results of the study will imply in a better knowledge about the effect of a low-cost intervention that could be easily replicated in outpatient care for the prevention and treatment of frailty, especially regarding the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways involved in its pathophysiology. Trial registration Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (RBR-9n5jbw; 01/24/2020). Registred January 2020. http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-9n5jbw/.

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