Create a 8 page essay paper that discusses The Effects of exercise on Alzheimer disease.Download file to see previous pages... The program, which is being advised by many famous names in Alzheimer's r

Create a 8 page essay paper that discusses The Effects of exercise on Alzheimer disease.

The program, which is being advised by many famous names in Alzheimer's research and treatment, also promotes diet changes and maintaining a social life to try to slow cognitive decline and lower the risk for Alzheimer's. Kenneth S. Kosik, co-director of the Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, launched CFIT with a center in Santa Barbara last year. Dr. Kosik recommends that individuals start efforts to prevent the disease in their 50s. "By the time someone walks in my door with symptoms of the disease, it's too late" to stop it, says Dr. Kosik, who plans to open four CFIT centers in New York and California. The idea behind the new research is that lifestyle interventions may delay or prevent the disease before symptoms appear -- or slow the progression of Alzheimer's once they do manifest. The shift in thinking has been bolstered by public health efforts to prevent cognitive decline and delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease, which affects some 5.3 million Americans. ...

Scientists don't know exactly what causes Alzheimer's, a progressive brain disorder that accounts for the majority of dementia cases, although genetics and age likely play a role. There are only four drugs approved for the disease, but these just treat individual symptoms and don't stop the relentless course of the illness. New medicines are in testing but are likely to take years before they reach medical clinics. Even if someone is destined to get the disease, delaying its onset for even a few years could dramatically improve quality of life. It could also reduce the estimated 500,000 new cases diagnosed every year, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Many of the 50 people currently enrolled in the CFIT program have no clinical symptoms yet, but they know they have some sort of genetic risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. This usually means a first-degree relative who has Alzheimer's or either one or two copies of the ApoE gene, which is a risk factor of Alzheimer's. Participants, in their 50s to 80s in age, come at least once a week to CFIT, which resembles a community center. They undergo an initial evaluation to determine a baseline level of cognitive fitness, then are re-evaluated again after six months and a year. The center tailors a regimen for each individual based on a combination of physical exercise, diet, cognitive challenges, music therapy, and social interaction to try to stave off the disease. The CFIT center charges participants $4,000 a year, which it says is to cover the costs of maintaining the program. Dr.