Ringenbach Shannon D R, Arnold Nathaniel E, Tucker Kori, Rand Miya K, Studenka Breanna E, Ringenbach Stockton B, Chen Chih-Chia
College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
Brain Sci. 2023 Dec 15;13(12):1719. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13121719.
Alzheimer's disease is prevalent in persons with Down syndrome (DS) as early as their 30s and presents as decreased social interaction, coordination, and physical activity. Therefore, changing attitudes and beliefs about exercise is key to increasing motivation for physical activity especially in middle-age adults with DS. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Assisted Cycle Therapy (ACT) on self-efficacy and exercise perception in middle-age adults with Down syndrome (DS) following an exercise intervention three times a week for 8 weeks. Twelve participants were in the ACT group in which a motor assisted their cycling to be performed at least 30% faster than voluntary cycling (VC), 10 participants were in the voluntary cycling group, and two participants were in the no cycling (NC) group. The results showed that both exercise groups (i.e., ACT and VC) improved in their self-efficacy after the 8-week intervention. In addition, exercise perception improved following ACT, but not VC or NC. Our results are discussed with respect to their future implications for exercise in the DS population. The results can be attributed to differences in effort required by each intervention group as well as the neurotrophic factors that occur when muscle contractions create synaptic connections resulting in improvement in cognition and feelings of satisfaction.
早发性阿尔茨海默病在唐氏综合征（DS）患者中很常见，早在他们30多岁时就会出现社交互动、协调能力和身体活动能力下降的情况。因此，改变对运动的态度和观念是提高身体活动积极性的关键，尤其是对于中年唐氏综合征成年人。本研究的目的是在对中年唐氏综合征（DS）成年人进行为期8周、每周三次的运动干预后，研究辅助循环疗法（ACT）对自我效能感和运动感知的影响。12名参与者在ACT组，在该组中，一种电机辅助他们骑车，速度比自愿骑车（VC）至少快30%；10名参与者在自愿骑车组，两名参与者在无骑车（NC）组。结果显示，在为期8周的干预后，两个运动组（即ACT组和VC组）的自我效能感均有所提高。此外，ACT组的运动感知有所改善，而VC组和NC组则没有。我们将根据研究结果对唐氏综合征人群未来运动的影响进行讨论。这些结果可归因于每个干预组所需努力的差异，以及肌肉收缩产生突触连接时出现的神经营养因子，从而导致认知能力和满意度的提高。
