What the trial was testing
The trial enrolled 117 patients with alzheimer's disease. The study was sponsored by University of Kansas Medical Center and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
Researchers followed patients through treatment and into recovery, tracking the outcomes that mattered most for the disease being studied.
What the results showed
Hippocampal blood flow rose only in APOE4 carriers who exercised.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2021 · NCT02000583
These findings — that rise in hippocampal blood flow with exercise — only in hypertensive APOE4 carriers — were published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 117 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with alzheimer's disease, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Aerobic exercise is free and broadly recommended. APOE4 genetic testing is available through doctors and consumer services. The American Heart Association and Alzheimer's Association both recommend regular aerobic exercise for brain health. Ask your primary care doctor about a starter exercise plan, especially if you have high blood pressure.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open alzheimer's disease trials
Cereset Research for Caregivers
Caregivers experience high levels of prolonged stress that can lead to chronic problems with health, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease that is linked to autonomic dysregulation. Heart rate variability (HRV), measures of autonomic cardiovascular regulation, is decreased (worse) in caregivers. Autonomic function is linked to lateralization in the brain, and emerging neuromodulation methods that target lateralized signals in the brain, like Cereset (CR), may be able to improve heart rate variability. Therefore, this pilot study aims to test whether CR can improve HRV in caregivers of a person living with dementia experiencing stress, anxiety, or insomnia, as well as improve self-report measures of stress, sleep and caregiver burden.
dTMS for Subjective Cognitive Decline
Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) is a brain stimulation technique that involves generating a brief magnetic field in a coil that is placed on the scalp. The magnetic field passes through the skull and induces a weak electrical current in the brain that briefly activates neural circuits at the stimulation site. The Brainsway dTMS H7-Coil is able to target an area of the brain that has been shown in studies to be linked to greater resilience to cognitive decline. In this study, the investigators will combine dTMS with cognitive training in older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and examine the effect of this treatment on memory, other cognitive abilities, and mood. In addition, the investigators will examine the combined effects of dTMS and cognitive training on brain activity as measured using electroencephalography (EEG). Approximately 30 older adults from ages 55 to 70 with SCD and a positive family history of Alzheimer's disease will be enrolled in this study.