Intensive dance - exercise intervention program for healthy seniors and patients with mild cognitive impairment
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | This article introduces the 44-month randomized placebo control study in which the Faculty of Sport Studies Masaryk University Brno cooperates with the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC). The project's main aim is to develop a structured dance - exercise intervention for healthy seniors (HS) and patients with mild cognitive impairment in AD (MCI) and evaluate its effect on the structure and function of the brain and the level of motor and cognitive abilities in this sample of population. The study was piloted on a sample of 120 seniors over the age of 60 (60 HS and 60 MCI). Half of each group underwent a 6 - month dance - exercise intervention (a tot al of 50 training units, each lasting for 60 min, 3 times a week, with innovative dance choreography); the second half was a control group (life as usual). All subjects were assessed at baseline and after 6 months utilizing a novel advanced multimodal MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy protocol and detailed standardized cognitive testing. The level of physical fitness and postural stability using standardized tests (static posturography, three subtests of Senior fitness test: 6 minutes’ walk, Chair sta nd test, 8 - foot Up and Go test (Rikli and Jones, 2013) and BMI characteristics were evaluated. Preliminary results of three Senior fitness subtests show the positive effect of dance - exercise intervention on the monitored parameters. However, we can´t i gnore the unsupervised parameters, especially the changes in the social perception and behaviour of the participants in the experimental group. We can discuss how social interaction established during the intervention program can affect the quality of life in seniors. |
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