A special study on the impact of physical activity on brain health is coming to the KVOE listening area.
The University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and KU Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management are participating in what’s called the Combined Exercise Trial, or COMET study, and Emporia’s LEAP! Program — Lifestyle Empowerment for Alzheimer’s Prevention — is involved. LEAP! Director Erin Blocker joined KVOE’s Morning Show on Monday after LEAP! was approved for participation late last week. With a lot of information now available about the brain’s response to aerobic training, the overall goal of this study is to see how the brain responds to resistance training, cardio, core infusion training and and a combination of resistance-aerobic training.
Study participants must be between ages 65 and 80, be able to speak and read English conversationally, be medically cleared, have reliable transportation, are “cognitively normal” and are “underactive.” Blocker says 25 volunteers are needed for the study. Some — but not all — participants will be compensated up to $520 if they complete all assessment visits, while participants will get study-paid memberships to a KU-approved exercise facility — in this case, Emporia Fitness. The study also pays for a personal trainer as approved for supervised exercise. Brain scans and memory tests are also included.
This is the second year of the five-year study, and LEAP! will be part of the remaining four years of the program. For more information, call 913-588-0555.
*Click here for background information about the COMET study.
*Click here for a registration link to the COMET study.
