Abstract

ARCOVERDE, Cynthia et al. Role of physical activity on the maintenance of cognition and activities of daily living in elderly with Alzheimer's disease. Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr. [online]. 2008, vol.66, n.2b, pp. 323-327. ISSN 0004-282X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2008000300007.

BACKGROUND: The practice of physical activities has proved to be an efficient strategy in the improvement of independency and cognitive functions in the elderly with Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relation between the practice of physical activity, cognition and activities of daily living (ADL) of patients with AD. METHOD: The cognitive and physical aspects and ADL were evaluated of 37 elders (19 normal controls, 11 sedentary with AD and 7 active with AD). RESULTS: The variable that best predicts the cognitive state (MMSE) is the duration of disease for the AD sedentary group and Lawton's Scale for the AD active group. We observed a correlation between MMSE score and duration of disease in the sedentary group and between MMSE and ADL in the active group. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that physical and cognitive stimulation in patients with AD can contribute to decrease cognitive and functional decline.

Keywords : Alzheimer's disease; cognition; ADL; physical exercise; mobility.