Feasibility of reducing frailty components in older adults with Alzheimer's dementia:a randomized controlled home-based exercise trial (AD-HOMEX)

Objectives: There is a need for interventions to reduce frailty in older people with Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a home-based multimodal exercise program for older adults with AD (AD-HOMEX) on frailty. Design: A parallel single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing a home-based exercise program and usual care. Setting and participants: A home-based program in Brazil. Forty individuals aged 65 years or older with mild to moderate AD. Methods: The intervention group (IG) participated in a 16-week protocol involving three 60-minute sessions per week of progressive individualized physical exercises supervised by a physical therapist. The participants in the control group (CG) maintained their usual care. Frailty was assessed using the FRAIL questionnaire, the Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) and a subjective assessment by the evaluator (SAE) at baseline and follow-up. Per-protocol analysis was performed. Results: Thirty-five participants completed the program (IG = 16; CG = 19). Frailty improved in the IG based on the EFS (P = .004) and FRAIL (P Conclusions and implications: AD-HOMEX seems to reduce frailty and improve frailty transition patterns. Our findings provide a further theoretical basis for designing home-based physical interventions as routine practice for older frail adults with AD

Mobility and dual task in healthy and neurological impaired older adults: cross-sectional study / Mobilidade e dupla tarefa em idosos saudáveis e com comprometimento neurológico: estudo transversal

Purpose: compare the association between performance during the execution of dual tasks with cognitive function, mobility and clinical aspects and to present a proposal for a dual task evaluation on postural control in elderly participants. Materials and methods: Study cross-sectional. The participants were allocated into groups: healthy elderly group, individuals in the mild cognitive impairment group and individuals with Parkinson's disease. Motor evaluation was performed through the Foot Eight Walking and Timed Up and Go tests. Results: The Mild Cognitive Impairment Group presented a greater increase in time during the cognitive and motor tasks in Foot Eight Walking. For the cognitive Timed Up and Go, the Mild Cognitive Impairment Group presented longer times than the other groups, whereas the motor and simple Timed Up and Go required a longer time by the Parkinson's Disease Group. Conclusions: The nonrectilinear lane mobility test was useful as an evaluation method for the elderly participants and the strong correlation with already established mobility instruments is also highlighted