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Effects of physical activity training in patients with Alzheimer's dementia: results of a pilot RCT study
Holthoff VA, Marschner K, Scharf M, Steding J, Meyer S, Koch R, Donix M.. PloS one, 2015-04-17
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background There is evidence that physical activity (PA) is of cognitive benefit to the ageing brain, but little is known on the effect in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present pilot study assessed the effect of a home-based PA training on clinical symptoms, functional abilities, and caregiver burden after 12 and 24 weeks. Methods In an RCT thirty patients (aged 72.4±4.3 years) with AD (MMSE: 20.6±6.5 points) and their family caregivers were allocated to a home-based 12-week PA intervention program or the usual care group.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Holthoff, V. A., Marschner, K., Scharf, M., Steding, J., Meyer, S., Koch, R., et al. (2015). Effects of physical activity training in patients with Alzheimer's dementia: results of a pilot RCT study. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121478
Vancouver
Holthoff VA, Marschner K, Scharf M, Steding J, Meyer S, Koch R, et al. Effects of physical activity training in patients with Alzheimer's dementia: results of a pilot RCT study. PloS one. 2015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121478. PMID: 25884637.
BibTeX
@article{holthoff2015-25884637,
author = {Holthoff, V. A. and Marschner, K. and Scharf, M. and Steding, J. and Meyer, S. and Koch, R. and Donix, M.},
title = {{Effects of physical activity training in patients with Alzheimer's dementia: results of a pilot RCT study}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0121478},
pmid = {25884637},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121478}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The present pilot study assessed the effect of a home-based PA training on clinical symptoms, functional abilities, and caregiver burden after 12 and 24 weeks.
- Methods In an RCT thirty patients (aged 72.4±4.3 years) with AD (MMSE: 20.6±6.5 points) and their family caregivers were allocated to a home-based 12-week PA intervention program or the usual care group.
- The program changed between passive, motor-assisted or active resistive leg training and changes in direction on a movement trainer in order to combine physical and cognitive stimuli.
- Results Analysis of activities of daily living in the patients (ADCS ADL total score) revealed a significant group × time interaction effect (95% CI of the difference between both groups at T2: 5.01-10.51).
Why it matters
This small pilot randomized trial of 30 patients with Alzheimer's disease tested a home-based physical activity program over 12 weeks, with assessment at 12 and 24 weeks. The provided text does not report the outcomes, so it is unclear whether physical activity affected symptoms, function, or caregiver burden.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 61/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomized controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PloS one) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomized controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomized / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomized (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 141 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.8 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 37 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Markus Donix: h-index 23 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Technische Universität Dresden: institution h-index 870 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 25884637) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 61 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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