The impact of a 12-month randomized exercise intervention on cognitive function and brain volume in adults with down syndrome.

Authors

Lauren T Ptomey, Andrew J Aschenbrenner, Brian Helsel, Amy Bodde, Julianne G Clina, Jessica C Danon, Rebecca Lepping, Laura E Martin, Morgan Brucks, Joseph R Sherman, Daniel E Forsha, Richard A Washburn, Joseph E Donnelly

Published in

Disability and health journal. Pages 102134. Jul 30, 2026. Epub Jul 30, 2026.

Abstract

Adults with Down syndrome (DS) have a high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). While exercise improves cognition and brain health in the general population, few long-term studies have evaluated its effects in DS.
We examined the impact of a 12-month remotely delivered exercise program on cognitive function and brain volume in adults with DS.
81 adults with DS (mean age = 27 years) were randomized to high-frequency remote exercise (3 sessions/week, RH), low-frequency remote exercise (1 session/week, RL), or a support and education control (SE). Cognitive function was assessed using the DS-adapted Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), and brain volumes were measured via MRI at baseline and 12 months.
There were no significant changes in any group in executive function or episodic memory (all p > 0.05), but the RH arm significantly improved processing speed across the 12-month intervention (EMM change: 0.17; p = 0.04). No between-group differences were observed for changes in overall cognitive scores. The RL group showed a decrease in total grey matter volume (EMM change -0.82; p = 0.02) and the RH group had no change (EMM change: 0.08; p = 0.72), yielding a significant group effect across time (EMM: 0.90; p = 0.04). Additionally, the RH arm had an increase in right hippocampal volume over 12 months (EMM change: 0.004; p = 0.04).
The improvements in reaction time, right hippocampal volume, and grey matter preservation suggest that structured exercise may influence cognition and brain health in adults with DS.
NCT04048759.

PMID:
42532804
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 31 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.