申論題

 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a trajectory neurodegenerative disease that has been proved to be one of the most common causes of dementia. Recent studies suggest that exercise therapy may enhance cognitive functions of AD via increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes and synthesis of neurotrophic factors. Dr. Green designed an experiment to examine whether aerobic exercise (AE) can increase the functions of learning and memory of patients with AD. He recruited 30 patients with AD from a local outpatient clinic. Before the AE therapy, all the participants took the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG), which assesses several abilities including (a) short- and long-term memory, (b) concentration and attention span, (c) language and communication skills, and (d) awareness of time and place (orientation). All the participants started 30-minute sessions of AE therapy three times a week for the following 6 months. Only 25 of the 30 participants completed the AE therapy and took the GPCOG at the end of the 6 months. The results of GPCOG on the two time points of the 25 participants were compared to ensure the effects of AE therapy.