The effect of a multicomponent exercise protocol (VIVIFRAIL©) on inflammatory profile and physical performance of older adults with different frailty status: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: To investigate whether an exercise intervention using the VIVIFRAIL© protocol has benefits for inflammatory and functional parameters in different frailty status.

Methods/design: This is a randomized clinical trial in an outpatient geriatrics clinic including older adults ≥60 years. For each frailty state (frail, pre-frail and robust), forty-four volunteers will be randomly allocated to the control group (n = 22) and the intervention group (n = 22) for 12 weeks.

Effects of weight training on cognitive functions in elderly with Alzheimer's disease.

Unlabelled: Deterioration in cognitive functions is characteristic in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may be associated with decline in daily living activities with consequent reduced quality of life.

Objective: To analyze weight training effects on cognitive functions in elderly with AD.

Subjects: 34 elderly with AD were allocated into two groups: Training Group (TG) and Social Gathering Group (SGG).

Apathy, cognitive function and motor function in Alzheimer's disease.

Unlabelled: The aims of this study were to characterize the presence of apathy in patients with AD, determine the relationship between apathy, motor function and cognitive function, and to verify differences among patients stratified by level of apathy in relation to cognitive and motor abilities.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 37 patients with AD. The following tests were used: MoCA, the Frontal Assessment Battery, Verbal Fluency, Clock Drawing Test, Andreotti & Okuma Battery Tests, Sit and Reach, Resistance of Upper Limbs - AAHPERD Battery Test, Sit and Lift Chair and the Apathy domain of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.

Depressive symptoms and level of physical activity in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of depressive symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease, to assess whether there was an association between physical activity level and depressive symptoms in this population, and to assess whether more active patients had lower rates of depressive symptoms when compared with less active patients.

Methods: The study included 37 patients with Alzheimer's disease and used the following instruments: the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia and the Baecke Questionnaire Modified for the Elderly. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine whether the data were normally distributed.