NCT03696082

A Precision Rehabilitation Approach to Counteract Age-Related Cognitive Declines

A Precision Rehabilitation Approach to Counteract Age-Related Cognitive

• Status: Terminated
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 78 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study examines the behavioral, molecular, and structural biomarkers of brain health that will allow for the stratification of individuals according to their "cognitive signature" and function. This study will randomize older adults into one of four interventions for a period of 12 months: 1) Aerobic Exercise, 2) Resistance Exercise, 3) Yoga Exercise, 4) Health Education (involves stretching and range of motion activities). This aims of this study will examine whether and how these different types of training interventions exert effects cognitive function, brain structure, biomarkers of brain health and cognition, and physical function.

Detailed description

Physical activity is increasingly recognized to play a role in maintenance of brain health and attenuation of physical decline associated with aging. While physical activity has been shown to gradually decline with increasing age, initiation of an exercise protocol attenuates declines in cognition associated with advancing age, including impaired neurogenesis as well as decreased attention and learning. These benefits may be attributed, at least in part, to physical activity's role in maintaining an anti-inflammatory phenotype, and several clinical observational studies performed in older adults have shown an inverse relationship between self-reported physical activity and inflammatory biomarkers. Pre-clinical studies have also revealed that exposing aged animals to circulating factors derived from young animal counterparts significantly improves cognitive function and promotes neurogenesis. A major limitation of clinical studies investigating the effect of physical activity on cognitive function is that subjects display considerable variability in their responses to the intervention. There are likely to be multiple biological pathways by which physical activity influences brain structure and function, and the type of physical activity that may be effective for influencing these pathways is likely to vary greatly. A better mechanistic understanding of how different modes of physical activity may target varying regions of the brain and other aspects of aging is therefore warranted. This study examines the behavioral, molecular, and structural biomarkers of brain health that will allow for the stratification of individuals according to their "cognitive signature" and function. This study will randomize older adults into one of four interventions for a period of 12 months: 1) Aerobic Exercise, 2) Resistance Exercise, 3) Yoga Exercise, 4) Health Education (involves stretching and range of motion activities). This aims of this study will examine whether and how these different types of training interventions exert differential effects on potential pathways of cognition and function in aged individuals, and the role of baseline subject characteristics in mediating these responses. The specific aims are: 1. To compare changes in cognitive function in response to three different types of physical activity (aerobic activity, resistance training activity, yoga) versus health education control. 2. To compare changes in brain structure in response to three different types of physical activity (aerobic activity, resistance training activity, yoga) versus health education control. 3. To compare biomarkers of brain health and cognition in response to three different types of physical activity (aerobic activity, resistance training activity, yoga) versus health education control. 4. To examine changes in physical function in response to three different types of physical activity (aerobic activity, resistance training activity, yoga) versus health education control. 5. To conduct post-hoc analyses to examine whether baseline measures of cognitive function, brain structure, biomarkers, or physical function influence responsiveness to any of the three different types of physical activity (aerobic activity, resistance training activity, yoga) versus health education control.

Conditions

• Cognition Disorders
• Brain Pathology
• Physical Disability
• Physical Activity
• Aging

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Aerobic Activity	Moderate-intensity exercise aerobic exercise that involves participating in activities similar to brisk walking that increase heart rate and breathing rate, with activity progressing to 150 minutes per week. Activities other than brisk walking, such as dance, aerobics, swimming, cycling or other activities that increase heart rate and breathing rate to a moderate intensity that can be sustained for at least 10 minutes will also be encouraged. This will require the participant to attend one supervised session each week for a period of 12 months with the remaining sessions being performed on their own without supervision.
BEHAVIORAL	Resistance Training	Resistance exercise that involves participating in activities similar to lifting weights that cause the participant to work specific muscles of your body, with activity progressing to 150 minutes per week. This can involve using weight training machines, elastic tubes that create resistance, or weights such a dumbbells. This will require the participant to attend one supervised session each week for a period of 12 months with the remaining sessions being performed on their own without supervision.
BEHAVIORAL	Yoga	Yoga involves a series of movements and poses that are performed in a specific sequence that are adapted to your ability, with activity progressing to 150 minutes per week. This will require the participant to attend one supervised session each week for a period of 12 months with the remaining sessions being performed on their own without supervision.
BEHAVIORAL	Health Education	This involves the participant receiving information regarding aspects of health that are important for older adults, and also physical activity in the form of light stretching activities and movements. This will require the participant to attend one supervised session each week for a period of 12 months with the remaining sessions being performed on their own without supervision.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-09-01
• Primary completion: 2022-01-31
• Completion: 2022-12-31
• First posted: 2018-10-04
• Last updated: 2023-03-22

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States