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Exercise helps patients cope with Alzheimer's Disease

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by Pam LeBlanc, Fit City
John Duncan jogs around Lady Bird Lake two mornings a week, a personal trainer at his side.

Gravel crunches under his sneakers as he plods along, shielding his eyes from the streaming sunlight. As Duncan rounds the bend at Lou Neff Point, a harmonica-playing musician perched on a limestone ledge cheers him on.

Duncan's marathon days are far behind him. He doesn't remember crossing the finish line at the Boston, Chicago or New York City marathons 25 years ago. Alzheimer's disease has stolen those moments. But exercising with a trainer has helped him cope with the frustrations and symptoms that come with his illness.

In addition to jogging, Duncan, 74, a former economics professor and husband of Austin attorney Becky Beaver, spends an hour twice a week doing strength and balance training with certified personal trainer Randeen Torvik Ragan.

Experts have long known that heart-pumping exercise helps delay normal cognitive decline in healthy aging adults. They also believe it can improve brain cell function in people with Alzheimer's disease, which impairs memory and thinking skills. And it helps patients maintain physical mobility and balance as their illness progresses.

"The recommendation is usually 100 to 150 minutes a week, and that would include mostly aerobic - walking, indoor cycling, swimming," says neurologist Dr. Ronald Devere, director of the Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center in Lakeway and a board member of the Capital of Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. "The jury is still out on weights and tai chi. I think there's evidence (that it helps), but it isn't as strong as the aerobic exercise."

Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, where brain cells still multiply as we get older, and triggers the release of brain-derived growth hormone, which seems to improve cell function, Devere says. Physical activity also helps control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, all of which are risk factors for stroke and cognitive decline.

An estimated 5.4 million American's have Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, and the number is expected to grow as the population ages, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

On the trail, Ragan eggs Duncan along as they jog, encouraging him to speed up for short bursts.

"Hang in there, John," she says as they near the end of their hourlong, 3-mile loop. After they finish, they stretch a few minutes and chat. Most of Duncan's comments are short.

Did he run with a group when he trained for his marathons? "I don't remember."

Does running make him feel better? "I guess."

"We ought to do a 5K, John," Ragan suggests.

He brightens. "Yeah, I'd do it," he says.

The next day, Ragan takes Duncan through an hourlong strength and balance workout at Duncan's home in Central Austin.

As he warms up on a treadmill, Ragan urges him to pick up his feet. They shift to a rowing machine for a few minutes before heading into the backyard. Duncan slams a weighted medicine ball into the ground over and over, then jogs up and down the yard, tossing the ball back and forth with Ragan. Then it's a litany of single leg squats, cable rows, pushups and lunges. Duncan works his way agreeably through all of it, before wrapping up the session with some crunches and stretching.

"As always, great job," Ragan says, patting his arm. He pats hers in return.

Since he started exercising with Ragan, Duncan has worked up to heavier medicine balls, dumbbells and resistance bands.

"He inspires me because I see that having an illness like that is not an invitation to sit on your butt," Ragan says. "The continuing message is that exercise is good for everyone."

A quiet, soft-spoken man with a dry sense of humor, Duncan has always been affable and easygoing. He graduated from Austin College in Sherman and did graduate work at Tulane University. He taught economics at Loyola University and Xavier University in New Orleans, and later at Austin College and Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

He then headed the legislative analysis group at the Texas Comptroller's office, and served as assistant to two commissioners on the Public Utilities Commission of Texas.

A skilled photographer who was handy around the house, he started showing Alzheimer's symptoms about 10 years ago. He couldn't remember things and had trouble with electronics, including the television remote control.

Date added: 10/19/2011


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