Participation in an aerobic exercise training or a stretching and toning program was linked to improved performance on memory and executive function tests in previously sedentary patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, or aMCI, study findings showed.

Although previous findings suggest that physical exercise can improve neurocognitive function in elderly adults, there have been no randomized controlled trials on whether aerobic exercise training (AET) can improve cognitive performance and reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathologies in patients with aMCI, Takashi Tarumi, PhD, from the department of neurology and neurotherapeutics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and colleagues wrote in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.