Exercise May Help People With Existing Cognitive Impairment

KYW Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It is a medical fact that keeps being confirmed in study after study. Engaging in modest exercise may help people with existing cognitive impairment or what may be thought of as early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

It can improve their thinking about as much as available medications.  It doesn't have to be expensive forms of exercise. It can be home based. If a person with dementia or impairment exercises 15 minutes three times a week at a moderate rate, they actually fare better than those who do not exercise as much. Obviously, exercise is not a substitute for consistent medical follow up and home care and certainly it will not reverse dementia but it can improve quality of life. With the numbers of those expected to suffer from dementia on the rise it also makes sense for most of us to start these programs at a younger age. It can only help.