Reducing African Americans' Alzheimer's Disease Risk Through Exercise (RAATE)"
Trial Parameters
Brief Summary
The RAATE proposal is designed to determine the effects of physical activity on risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease in older African American adults. The study will compare a physical activity program to an active control group. There are three main objectives of the protocol: 1) to determine if a physical activity intervention tailored to older African American adults is effective in modifying cognitive function associated with Alzheimer's Disease, 2) to determine if a physical activity intervention tailored to older African American adults is effective in modifying brain function and structure associated with Alzheimer's Disease, and 3) to determine if a physical activity promotion intervention tailored to African American adults is effective at enhancing physiological parameters. The primary endpoints for the study are episodic memory and executive functioning. The secondary outcomes include anthropometry, blood pressure, brain activation, cerebral blood flow, volume of whole brain and white matter hyperintensities, cardiorespiratory fitness, objectively measured physical activity, circulating hormones, and telomere length.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: 1. self- identify as African American 2. 60 years and older 3. willing to accept randomization 4. willing to attend group sessions 5. lacking plans to move during the study period 6. free of conditions that would make regular exercise unsafe (e.g. uncontrolled asthma, severe sickle cell disease, etc.) 7. not engaged in regular physical activity 8. Short Physical Performance Battery score \>/= 4 9. physically capable of exercise, Exclusion Criteria: 1. cognitive impairment that would interfere with participating in group interactions 2. unwilling to give written informed consent 3. inability to attend group sessions 4. conditions that prevent regular exercise 5. conditions that the medical or principal investigator determine to warrant exclusion