"Walking with a vision". The feasibility of a physical training program to improve visual memory in seniors with Down's syndrome and suspicion of Alzheimer's disease.

Verwer, J.H. (2010) "Walking with a vision". The feasibility of a physical training program to improve visual memory in seniors with Down's syndrome and suspicion of Alzheimer's disease. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.

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Abstract

Background: Persons with Down syndrome suffer from several cognitive deficits, among others visual memory, and earlier decline due to Alzheimer's disease. The feasibility of conducting a physical exercise program with persons with DS and suspicion of AD was examined, as was the effect of the training program on visual memory. Methods: 23 subjects participated, 9 in the intervention group, 14 in the control group. Pre- and posttests consisted of conducting several visual memory tests. The intervention consisted of 12 weeks of aerobic walking, with a frequency of 3 days/ week, an intensity of 60% of HRR and a session duration of 30 minutes. Results: the feasibility was limited, mainly due to the lower than expected attendance (81 %) and the reached intensity (mean HR Ill instead of desired 118). Main effects on visual memory also stayed out, no significant differences were found at the post-test. Small improvements were found for the intervention group, as all mean post-test scores were better than pretests and they improved from scoring worse than to equally well as the controls. Conclusion: though the feasibility of the current study was limited, there is ground to improve the implementation and though the intervention did not yield main improvements in visual memory scores, larger effects may be apparent with some adaptations of the training program.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Wijck, Dr. R. van
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 11:00
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 11:00
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2011

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