PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, TESTOSTERONE AND COGNITION IN OLDER MEN

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 关于运动对健康的好处已经说了很多。随着人口老化，我们特别有兴趣研究老年人的体力活动与认知能力（例如学习和记忆）之间的关系。目前，在文献中可以找到一些关于这种关系的研究，一些证据表明，运动有助于保护老年认知能力下降。然而，这一结论仍然不清楚，因为一些研究未能证明这种关系。其他涉及老年男性的研究表明，睾丸激素水平低与认知能力下降和阿尔茨海默病有关。 在这里，我们提出了一项研究，收集30名年龄在65岁至85岁之间的健康男性的体力活动量，记忆力表现和睾酮水平的数据。参加者将通过在健身中心、老年之家以及报纸上的广告招募。我们的目标是招募15名高活动量的男性（每周定期锻炼至少3次的男性）和15名低活动量的男性（每周锻炼少于2次的男性）。每名参与者的研究期为2周。参与者将在手腕上佩戴一个小型活动监测器，并在2周内记录活动日记。在2周结束时，将收集活动数据（测量和自我报告）。此外，他们将完成两项记忆任务，并在2周研究期结束时的最后一次访视时抽血测量睾酮水平。 这项初步研究收集的数据将被分析，以确定老年男性的体育锻炼量、记忆力表现和睾酮水平之间是否存在关系。本研究的结果将提供有用的研究信息，同时具有重要的公共卫生意义。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Much has been said about the benefits of exercise to health. With our aging population, we are particularly interested in studying the relationship between physical activity and cognitive abilities (e.g. learning and memory) in the elderly populations. Currently, a number of studies on this relationship can be found in the literature, with some evidence suggesting that exercise provides benefits in protecting cognitive decline in old age. However, this conclusion remains unclear as a number of studies failed to show this relationship. Other studies involving older men suggested that low testosterone level is related to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Here, we propose a study to collect data on the amount of physical activity, memory performance, and testosterone levels in 30 healthy men between the age of 65 to 85. Participants will be recruited through advertisement at fitness centers, senior homes, as well as in newspapers. We aim to recruit 15 men with high activity (men who regularly exercise at least 3 times a week) and 15 men with low activity (men who exercise less than 2 times a week). The study period for each participant will be 2 weeks. Participants will wear a small activity monitor on their wrist and keep an activity diary through 2 weeks. At the end of the 2-week period, activity data (both measured and self-reported) will be collected. In addition, they will complete two memory tasks and have a blood draw for testosterone level measurement at their last visit at the end of the 2-week study period. The data collected in this pilot study will be analyzed to see if there is a relationship between the amount of physical exercise, memory performance and testosterone level in older men. The outcome of this study will provide useful research information, at the same time carry important public health implications.