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Alzheimer’s: doing sport to relieve the disease
September 21st marks World Alzheimer’s Day. Research continues its fight as more than 15% of the population over 80 years old is affected in France. No cure, but sport in particular can have protective virtues on cognitive abilities.
(France 2)
September 21st marks World Alzheimer’s Day. Research continues its fight as more than 15% of the population over 80 years old is affected in France. No cure, but sport in particular can have protective virtues on cognitive abilities.
In Le Mans (Sarthe), Alzheimer’s patients meet once a week to play ping-pong: “We love to have fun even with people we don’t know”explains a patient who came to enjoy the pleasures of sport. Laughing, meeting people and above all doing sport: for Michel, who has been suffering from the disease for three years, ping-pong is a life-saving activity: “It’s better than staying at home.” For caregivers, it is also a time to come together, discuss and share the experience of the illness.
Sport is effective in relieving some symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. It works so well that other patients are taking it up everywhere. In Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine), tennis is offered for people with the disease. “This is really a moment I’ve been waiting for.” says a patient. In France, there are 1,200,000 people affected by Alzheimer’s disease.