Louis Bherer

Université de Montréal | UdeM · Department of Medicine

BACKGROUND: Exercise training (ET) at home can be a good alternative to encourage access and participation to primaryprevention programs in older adults with cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF). ET can improve prognosis, cardiopulmonary, hemodynamic functions, and quality of life of older adults with CVRF. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is a powerfu...

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D), prediabetes (Pred), and insulin resistance (IR) were previously believed to be irreversible conditions. However, thanks to numerous studies on bariatric surgery, we know that remission can be achieved when substantial weight loss is achieved. To offer individuals a more comprehensive range of options, exploring al...

BACKGROUND: Long COVID-19 syndrome is when symptoms persist formore than 3months after the infection (around 15%of adults infected by COVID-19). Long COVID-19 is a multisystem disease with over 100 listed symptoms; the most common are fatigue, trouble sleeping, breathlessness, pain and cognitive problems. Some studies have evaluated the effect of r...

BACKGROUND: The most studied strategies for type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission are bariatric surgery and continuous lowcalorie diet that both induce fat mass loss. Objective: The DIABEPIC 2 pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a 6- month T2D remission program based on a combination of a dietary re-education (low-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet, in...

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment affects up to 50% of patients with heart failure (HF) and is associated with high mortality rates, poor quality of life and reduced functional capacities. There appears to be a bi-directional relationship between HF and cognitive impairment: HF induces cognitive impairment, which can lead to suboptimal treatment adh...

Background Hearing loss predicts cognitive decline and falls risk. It has been argued that degraded hearing makes listening effortful, causing competition for higher-level cognitive resources needed for secondary cognitive or motor tasks. Therefore, executive function training has the potential to improve cognitive performance, in turn improving mo...

Introduction: Despite proven programmes, implementing lifestyle interventions for pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes is challenging. Cardiac rehabilitation, provide a valuable opportunity to promote the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviours for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, only a limited number of studies...

Evidence suggests falls and postural instabilities among seniors are attributed to a decline in both the processing of afferent signals (e.g., proprioceptive, vestibular) and attentional resources. We investigated the interaction between the non-visual and attentional demands of postural control in sedentary seniors. Old and young adults performed...

Importance: Exercise, cognitive training, and vitamin D may enhance cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: To determine whether aerobic-resistance exercises would improve cognition relative to an active control and if a multidomain intervention including exercises, computerized cognitive training, and vitamin...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Mirella and Lino Saputo Research Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases and the Prevention of Cognitive Decline from Université de Montréal at the Montreal Heart Institute. Montreal Heart Institute and the EPIC Center Foundations. FB are financially supported by a grant...

Changes in functional brain connectivity (FBC) may indicate how lifestyle modifications can prevent the progression to dementia; FBC identifies areas that are spatially separate but temporally synchronized in their activation and is altered in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal state between healthy cognitive aging and dementia...

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are prevalent in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Among people with T2D aged over 70 years, up to 45% might have cognitive dysfunction. Cardiorespiratory fitness (V˙O2max) correlates with cognitive performances in healthy younger and older adults, and individuals with cardiovascular diseases (CVD)....

Therapeutic Area: Diabetes, Lifestyle Interventions Background: Different intensive lifestyle interventions have been shown to be useful for effective control and even reversal of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: The Montreal Heart Institute Cardiovascular Prevention Center (EPIC) started a comprehensive lifestyle clinic to study the...

Independently, obesity and physical activity (PA) influence cerebral structure in aging, yet their interaction has not been investigated. We examined sex differences in the relationships among PA, obesity, and cerebral structure in aging with 340 participants who completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition to quantify grey matter volume...

The application of interventions to enhance mobility in ecological settings remain understudied. This study was developed to evaluate the feasibility of training methods in a community centre and to evaluate their impact on mobility outcomes. Fifty-four participants were randomized to one of three 12-week training programs (three times/week): aerob...

Background and Objectives In older adults, executive functions are important for daily-life function and mobility. Evidence suggests that the relationship between cognition and mobility is dynamic and could vary according to individual factors, but whether cardiorespiratory fitness reduces the age-related increase of interdependence between mobilit...

Older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) have increased risk of dementia. Physical exercise, cognitive training, and vitamin D supplementation are emerging interventions for improving cognition. However, the potential synergism of combining them to improve cognition in MCI has not been yet tested. The SYNERGIC trial (SYNnchronizing Exercis...

Hypertension is one of the strongest modifiable risk factors for the development of cognitive impairment and dementia. However, there are conflicting reports regarding which class of antihypertensive medication is the best for reducing the risk of cognitive decline. The objective of this study is to determine whether sex determines the pharmacologi...

In older adults, executive functions are important for daily-life function and mobility. Evidence suggests that the relationship between cognition and mobility is dynamic and could vary according to individual factors, but whether cardiorespiratory fitness reduces the age-related increase of interdependence between mobility and cognition remains un...

Background: There is mounting evidence that regular physical activity is an important prerequisite for healthy cognitive aging. Consequently, the finding that almost one-third of the adult population does not reach the recommended level of regular physical activity calls for further public health actions. In this context, digital and home-based ph...

An association between muscle and cognition in older adults has been reported, but underlying mechanisms and physiological factors remain poorly understood. It has previously been suggested that a possible mechanism through Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) could explain this relationship between age-related muscle and cognitive declines. Partic...

Functional brain connectivity (FBC), or areas that are anatomically separate but temporally synchronized in their activation, represent a sensitive biomarker for monitoring dementia progression. It is unclear whether frailty is associated with FBC in those at higher risk of progression to dementia (e.g., mild cognitive impairment -MCI-) and if sex...

Background and Objective. In older adults, executive functions are important for daily-life function and mobility. Evidence suggests that the relationship between cognition and mobility is dynamic and could vary according to individual factors, but whether cardiorespiratory fitness reduces the age-related increase of interdependence between mobilit...

Cognitive-motor dual-tasking is a complex activity that predicts falls risk and cognitive impairment in older adults. Cognitive and physical training can both lead to improvements in dual-tasking; however, less is known about what mechanisms underlie these changes. To investigate this, 33 healthy older adults were randomized to one of three trainin...

Background Although lifestyle interventions are first-line treatment for individuals living with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D), they are rarely implemented effectively in routine clinical care. Methods We present a retrospective analysis of a 12-month single-center structured multidomain lifestyle intervention clinic offered to patients l...

The neuropsychologist is specialized in brain-behavior interactions and assesses mental functions, while considering health and psychological factors. Cardiovascular diseases are associated with lower cognitive performances, as well as increased dementia risks. Although heart-brain interactions are increasingly recognized, the neuropsychologist’s r...

Background Targeted exercise training is a promising strategy for promoting cognitive function and preventing dementia in older age. Despite the utility of exercise as an intervention, variation still exists in exercise-induced cognitive gains and questions remain regarding the type of training (i.e., what), as well as moderators (i.e., for whom) a...

Background: Physical inactivity significantly increases risk of cardiovascular diseases, which are highly prevalent in aging. Conversely, higher levels of physical activity in aging have been associated with benefits for physical and cognitive health and is hypothesized to prevent and reduce development of cardiovascular risk factors. However, thos...

Background Aging is associated with an increased likelihood of developing dementia, but a growing body of evidence suggests that certain modifiable risk factors may help prevent or delay dementia onset. Among these, physical activity (PA) has been linked to better cognitive performance and brain functions in healthy older adults and may contribute...

Background: Targeted exercise training is a promising strategy for promoting cognitive function and preventing dementia in older age. Despite the utility of exercise as an intervention, variation still exists in exercise-induced cognitive gains and questions remain regarding the type of training (i.e., what), as well as moderators (i.e., for whom)...

Menopause accelerates increases in arterial stiffness and decreases cognitive performances. The objective of this study was to compare cognitive performances in physically active pre- and post-menopausal females and their relationship with arterial stiffness. We performed a cross-sectional comparison of blood pressure, carotid–femoral pulse wave ve...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic forced health professionals to rapidly develop and implement telepractice and remote assessments. Recent reviews appear to confirm the validity of a wide range of neuropsychological tests for teleneuropsychology and among these, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a cognitive screening test widely used in clin...

Objective: The goal of this study is to determine the impact of sex on the effects of different antihypertensive drugs classes, whether in monotherapy or in combination therapy, on the global cognition scores of older adults to identify the most appropriate medication regime in men and women. Design and method: This study used the ESA - Services...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Different intensive lifestyle interventions have been shown to be useful for effective control and even reversal of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Objectives Our heart institute cardiovascular prevention center started a comprehensive lifestyle clinic in 2019 to study the i...

Background: Post-menopausal females appear resistant to the beneficial effects of exercise on endothelial function. Repeated increases in shear stress are considered important mediators of exercise-induced improvements in endothelial function. It is therefore possible that endothelial sensitivity to shear stress is reduced in post-menopausal femal...

Increasing evidence associates apathy with worsening in cognitive performance and greater risk of dementia, in both clinical and healthy older populations. In older adults with neurocognitive disorders, apathy has also been related to specific fronto-subcortical structural abnormalities , thus differentiating apathy and major depressive disorder. Y...

(1) Background: Cardiopulmonary and brain functions are frequently impaired after COVID-19 infection. Exercise rehabilitation could have a major impact on the healing process of patients affected by long COVID-19. (2) Methods: The COVID-Rehab study will investigate the effectiveness of an eight-week cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program on cardior...

INTRODUCTION: Physical exercise and cognitive training have the potential to enhance cognitive function and mobility in older adults at risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD), but little is known about the feasibility of delivering multidomain interventions in home settings of older adults at risk of ADRD. This study aims to asses...

Purpose: The benefits of exercise on vascular health are inconsistent in postmenopausal females. We investigated if blood pressure and markers of vascular function differ between physically active early post- and late premenopausal females. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional comparison of 24-h blood pressure, brachial artery flow-mediated d...

Background. Adherence to cardiac rehabilitation remains a challenge despite established evidence that engaging in regular exercise is a strong preventive measure to experiencing a second cardiac event. A recent study found a six-month cardiac rehabilitation program to be effective for facilitating regular exercise behavior among patients diagnosed...

Background Evidence supports that time spent on physical activity has beneficial effects on cognition in older adults. Nevertheless, this beneficial effect is likely to change in function of individual modifying factors like age and level of arterial stiffness. This study aims to reveal whether arterial stiffness and age modulate the positive impac...

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, confinement measures are likely to produce collateral damage to health (stress, confusion, anxiety), especially in frail individuals and those living with cardiovascular disease (CVD). In cardiac patients in particular, these measures dramatically increase the level of physical inactivity and sedentary li...

Objectives Studies suggest that cognitive training and physical activity can improve age-related deficits in dual-task performances. However, both of these interventions have never been compared in the same study. This paper investigates the improvement in dual-task performance in two types of exercise training groups and a cognitive training group...

BACKGROUND. The SYNERGIC trial (SYNchronizing Exercises, Remedies in GaIt and Cognition), a large multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT), showed promising interim results that individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) who received aerobic exercise combined with progressive resistance training and cognitive training improved their globa...

Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and brain health in healthy older adults have been reported using a variety of cardiorespiratory fitness estimates (CRFe). Using commonly used methods to determine CRF, we assessed the relationship between CRFe and executive function performance. Healthy older adults (n = 60, mean age 68 years, 77% wom...

Purpose: This study evaluated if passive controlled hyperthermia heat acclimation (HA) modulates cognitive performance during passive heat stress. Methods: Eight healthy adults (25 ± 4 years) underwent 7 consecutive days of hot water immersion (core temperature ≥38.6°C) and a 7-day time-control period. On days 1 and 7 of HA, participants perform...

Background. Half of the people with Fear of Falling (FoF) are non-fallers, and the reason why some people considered non-fallers are afraid of falling is unknown, but reduced mobility or cognition, or both concurrently must be considered as potential risk factors. Aim. The study aimed to determine if mobility and/or cognitive abilities could ident...

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and pre-diabetes are mostly lifestyle diseases associated with high rates of morbidity, mortality, and health care expenditures. Different intensive lifestyle interventions have shown to be useful for effective control and even reverse these conditions. However, these strategies are rarely implemented as first-line...

Background. Individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) exhibit cognitive deficits and cerebrovascular dysfunctions, and are at higher risk of developing dementia. Cognitive function in individuals with CHD has never been studied during acute aerobic exercise. Given the increasing popularity of training at high peak power output (PPO), its impact...

It is well established that sex differences exist in the manifestation of vascular diseases. Arterial stiffness (AS) has been associated with changes in cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and cognitive decline in aging. Specifically, older adults with increased AS show a decline on executive function (EF) tasks. Interestingly, the relationship betwee...

Background: Evidence supports that time spent on physical activity has beneficial effects on cognition in older adults. Nevertheless, whether these beneficial effects are still present at the intersection of different levels of arterial stiffness and age is uncertain. Methods: One hundred and ten healthy older adults aged 60-75 years were examin...

Background: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown and social distancing measures are applied to prevent the spread of the virus. It is well known that confinement and social isolation can have a negative impact on physical and mental health, including cognition. Physical activity and cognitive training can help enhance older adults’ cog...

Aging is associated with cognitive decline. Importantly cognition and cerebral health is enhanced with interventions like cognitive (CT) and exercise training (ET). However, effects of CT and ET interventions on brain magnetic resonance imaging outcomes have never been compared systematically. Here, the primary objective was to critically and syste...

Cortical thinning occurs during aging and has been reported to worsen with increased adiposity, although this relationship seems dependent on sex. Increased cortical thickness is related to greater cardiovascular fitness in aging, but previous work has not explored if fitness moderates these conflicting relationships between overweight and cortical...

Aging is associated with cerebrovascular impairments in males and females, yet this impairment develops nearly one decade later in females. Although cerebral blood flow (CBF) is consistently reported as higher in females, results on cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) have not been uniform in studies comparing females to males. Here, given that much l...

Background: The importance of promoting exercise adherence among individuals with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is imperative. However, challenges in maintaining behavior among ACS patients are also well-documented. Emerging findings in the general population have supported the use of habit-formation techniques, which include incorporating routine...

Background: Pain captures attention and interferes with competing tasks demanding cognitive effort. Brief mindfulness interventions involving both conceptual learning and meditation exercises have been shown to improve attention and reduce pain sensitivity, and could potentially reduce pain interference. This study assesses the effect of a 5-day mi...

Recent studies have shown that optical indices of cerebral pulsatility, including cerebral pulse amplitude, are linked to cerebrovascular health. A chronically higher cerebral pulsatility is associated with cognitive decline. Although it is widely known that regular physical activity improves cognitive functions, little is known about the associati...

Recent studies have reported that optical indices of cerebral pulsatility are associated with cerebrovascular health in older adults. Such indices, including cerebral pulse amplitude and the pulse relaxation function (PRF), have been previously applied to quantify global and regional cerebral pulsatility. The aim of the present study was to determi...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): The Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp Program of the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Background The growing concern on the impact of higher arterial stiffness on cognitive decl...

: Cardiovascular diseases involve a continuum starting with risk factors, which can progress to coronary heart disease and eventually, to heart failure. Cognitive impairment (CI) is observed as early as cardiovascular risk factors, and in up to 50% of patients with heart failure. Because CI in cardiovascular disease is linked to poorer clinical ou...

Aging is accompanied by global brain atrophy occurring unequally across the brain. Cortical thinning is seen with aging with a larger loss in the frontal and temporal subregions. We explored the link between regional cortical thickness and regional cerebral pulsatility. Sixty healthy individuals were divided into two age groups, young (aged 19-31)...

Physical training has shown benefits in pain management among patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), as it has improved pain severity, disability, qualit