Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Alzheimer disease (AD) slowly destroys your memory and thinking skills. There is currently no cure for AD, so early identification of people at risk is the best approach. Declining heart health (example: changes in blood flow) may be the earliest change in those at risk of AD. Frailty is a condition of reduced function across many of the body's systems. Frailty may negatively impact the relationship between the heart and the brain. Aerobic exercise (example: jogging) may be one of the best strategies to improve frailty. I believe my study will show: 1) participants with greater (worse) frailty will show a change in the relationship between heart and brain health. For example, more frail participants will show a mismatch between the blood that is delivered by the heart to the brain and the blood that is actually used by the brain; 2) aerobic exercise will improve frailty and help repair the connection between the heart and the brain. An important note is that males and females show differences in heart health, brain health, and frailty. So, I will explore study goals (#1 and #2) in males and females separately. I will assess heart health by measuring blood flow. I will use medical history, vital signs, and other health information to create a frailty score. Participants will also have pictures taken of their brain activating or "turning on." Participants will then take part in an aerobic exercise or a stretching and toning intervention. Stretching and toning is the "control" group. Both groups will exercise three times a week for six months. If frailty negatively impacts the relationship between heart and brain health, then people who are more frail may be at greater risk of being diagnosed with AD in the future. This is in comparison to other individuals who are less frail. My study may also show that aerobic exercise is an easy and cheap approach to reverse frailty, improve the relationship between the heart and the brain, and decrease future AD risk.