Abstract

Alzheimers Disease and Habitual Exercise: Relationship Mediated and Fostered by Vascular Risk Profiles?

Takashi Tarumi and Hirofumi Tanaka

Alzheimer’s disease, the most frequent form of dementia that accounts for 50-70% of all cases, impairs memory and learning, precludes independent living, and poses psychological and financial strain on caregivers and the healthcare system. Since the first discovery from a patient of Alois Alzheimerin 1906, a century of vigorous research has established key pathological features, including the conspicuous neuro degeneration that preferentially target shippo campus and the deposition of cerebral amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. However, there have been no established strategies to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and the currently-identified risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (i.e., aging and ApoE?4 allele) are non-modifiable. As a large number of baby boomers will be facing elevated risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease in the near future, there is an ever increasing need to search for modifiable risk factors and to identify intervention strategies to attenuate and prevent the disease development.