PAAD2 is a federally funded research project that explores the protective benefit of exercise for people with a family history of Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia.

The “2” is in PAAD2 because this is a follow-up study building upon a successful PAAD Phase 1 study at UNCG completed in 2013. One way this research is unique from other Alzheimer’s studies is that it focuses on people aged 40 – 65 with a family history of Alzheimer’s or dementia, but who currently have no symptoms of memory loss.

Enrolled participants are generally healthy, between 40-65 years of age, have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, and were exercising less than 90 minutes per week when screened for the study. They were not enrolled in the study if they were experiencing symptoms of cognitive impairment or depression, unable to exercise for health reasons, taking medications that affect thinking or exercise, or had uncorrected visual or hearing impairment.

All participants were screened for eligibility and participated in an on-campus pre-test assessment testing session which included measures of fitness and thinking abilities, questionnaires, blood and saliva samples, and an optional MRI scan. The same assessment takes place again after 6 months and after 1 year. Following the pre-test, each participant was randomly assigned to participate in an instructor-led virtual exercise program 3 days per week for 1 year OR maintain normal activity level for 1 year.

Enrollment was completed in October 2023. Thank you to all of our current and past participants!