Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Getting to Compliance in Forced Exercise in Rodents: A Critical Standard to Evaluate Exercise Impact in Aging-related Disorders and Disease
Published on: August 22, 2014
[Effect of physical exercise on Alzheimer's disease. A sistematic review]
María Ángela Agüera Sánchez1, Miguel Ángel Barbancho Ma2, Natalia García-Casares3
1Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, España.
Objective:
The objective of this review is to analyze through a the scientific evidence about the effects of physical activity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a preventive and non-pharmacological treatment.
Design:
Systematic review.
Data Sources:
We have identified articles from Pubmed, Science Direct, Medline and Scopus databases, with the keywords Alzheimer, Exercise, Neuroimaging, MRI, PET y Physical Activity. Selected articles: We included those studies that evaluated the effects of physical activity on Alzheimer's disease and those which also included magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography with Pittsburg Compound B marker (PiB) analyzing brain atrophy or increase of the beta-amyloid deposit respectively. We excluded studies including other types of dementia, different of AD. We also excluded articles which not included neuroimaging tests, single cases or non-English language articles.
Data Extraction:
The PRISMA quality scale was used for the critical lecture of the studies. The researchers independently assessed the articles and the discrepancies were resolved by consensus.
Results:
We identified 75 articles, of which 23 were finally included in the review.
Conclusions:
Most of the studies included do not allow us to know the impact of physical exercise on cognition and the cerebral structural-functional changes in patients at risk of developing AD or in patients who already have the disease. Without being able to rule out a possible beneficial effect, more studies are needed with a better design and methodological rigor that allows a better known about this association.
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment
Exercise and Cardiovascular Response
Light to moderate physical activity initiates a series of interconnected responses in the body. The heart rate modestly increases in anticipation of the workout, followed by widespread vasodilation as oxygen consumption by skeletal muscles increases. This results in decreased peripheral resistance, increased capillary blood flow, and accelerated...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology

