Exercise for Brain Health

What Is This Study About?

This study is recruiting older adults who are cognitively healthy but physically inactive to participate in an intervention comparing aerobic exercise and flexibility exercise and their effects on memory and brain function. Participants will engage in either moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, including treadmill walking, or flexibility exercise for four days per week for six months. Group-based exercise classes will take place in local retirement communities near College Park, MD, or at the University of Maryland, College Park. Researchers will measure changes in memory performance, MRI biomarkers, and fitness.

Do I Qualify To Participate in This Study?

Must have:

• Fluent in English
• Physically active two or fewer days per week for the past six months
• Physician consent to undergo an exercise stress test and engage in moderate-intensity exercise
• Ability to undergo magnetic resonance imaging

Must NOT have:

• Neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, brain tumor, chronic meningitis, multiple sclerosis, pernicious anemia, normal-pressure hydrocephalus, HIV infection, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease
• Untreated high blood pressure, glaucoma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Untreated severe major depression
• Substance abuse or dependence
• Use of psychoactive medications, except selective serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressants
• Use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, including Alzheimer's medications donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine
• Unstable or severe heart disease or asthmatic condition
• History of transient ischemic attack, cerebral ischemia, or stroke
• Diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, or objective evidence of cognitive impairment

If I Qualify, Who Do I Contact?

Contact study personnel listed either under the general study contact or the location nearest you.

 

Where Is This Study Located?

Maryland
University of Maryland, Department of Kinesiology College Park, MD 20742 Recruiting Study Coordinator 301-405-2574 exercisebrainhealth@gmail.com

Who Sponsors This Study?

Lead: University of Maryland

Collaborator Sponsor

• National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Johns Hopkins University
• Marquette University

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03727360