Can brain training prevent dementia? New studies may provide some answers.

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 Can brain training prevent dementia?  New studies may provide some answers.

This specter prompted Tardif to volunteer for a first U.S. study of its kind, known as the POINTER study, which is investigating whether computer-based brain exercises similar to video games when combined with a healthy diet, physical exercise and social interaction can reduce dementia for fend off those believed to be most at risk.

Butler Hospital and Miriam Hospital, both in Providence, jointly operate one of five national POINTER study centers and recruit volunteers from the greater Boston and Rhode Island areas.

“Maybe I can do something to lower my chances of getting it,” Tardif said. “Or when [researchers] To get something from me that could help someone else, that’s great.”

An estimated 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s — a number that is expected to rise sharply as baby boomers age. But with dwindling hopes of an effective Alzheimer’s drug soon, studies testing the protective effects of computer-assisted brain exercises and lifestyle interventions have taken on a new urgency.

“We’re not going to have a blockbuster treatment that’s going to catch on and beat Alzheimer’s any time soon,” said Dr. Stephen Salloway, Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and co-director of the Rhode Island Trial Center.

The POINTER study aims to enroll 2,000 people across the country, including about 400 in New England. Volunteers must be between the ages of 60 and 79, generally exercise less than three times a week, and have a family history of mildly elevated blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar, or memory problems.

Participants will be assigned to one of two groups: a structured group that will receive instruction and regular coaching on adopting a Mediterranean diet that includes more fruits and vegetables and increasing social interactions, approaches that may be helpful in staving off cognitive decline.

“If we can control the risk factors for heart disease and stroke, we’ll keep your brain healthier,” Salloway said.

They are also expected to adhere to specific computerized brain training exercises and prescribed aerobic, strength training, and stretching exercises.

The other group receives more general information about exercise, good nutrition, and the benefits of socially and mentally stimulating activities such as exercise. B. learning a new skill or hobby.

Researchers will assess both groups of volunteers every six months for two years, measuring changes in cognition and physical health.

The brain exercises involve a computer software program called BrainHQ that is challenging in a very specific way. Using a video game-like approach, it tests and strengthens participants’ attention, brain processing speed, memory, spatial navigation, and social skills.

The POINTER study, which has been funded with $35 million from the Alzheimer’s Association to recruit and run the study sites, is expected to receive an additional $47 million from the National Institute on Aging to conduct brain scans of participants. the scans, it is hoped to provide important clues as to why the interventions are or are not effective.

“There’s a chance that by training our brains… maybe something about the biology will change, but we just don’t have the evidence to be definitive,” said Dr. Dana Plude, associate director in the Department of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging, who oversees many of the institute’s dementia-related studies. “So we need that kind of research to answer those kinds of questions.”

Over the years, there has been mixed evidence as to whether certain forms of cognitive training are more effective than others at forestalling cognitive decline. For example, some studies have suggested doing crossword puzzles or other problem-solving puzzles, while others have found little effect.

But the results of a landmark study known as the ACTIVE study found that healthy older adults who received special brain training called processing speed had a 29 percent lower risk of dementia than an untreated control group after 10 years.

(The speed of processing requires participants to recognize a target in the center of the screen while simultaneously noticing a target in the periphery—even if they only flash the screen very briefly.)

Various brain exercises can help with everyday activities, such as B. when driving a car, remembering people’s names and finding your car keys.

Plude of the Aging Institute said his agency is funding studies that take different approaches to find out what activities might be most effective.

“Some people who want to do things like that might prefer to do them individually and they would feel uncomfortable in a group, and other people wouldn’t do it unless they’re in a group,” he said he.

“Let’s try doing these types of training activities in different ways and see which ones have traction,” Plude said. “And it probably won’t be one size fits all.”

Based on this theory, Plude’s department also recently funded a small, year-long study in California testing whether brain exercises embedded in an already popular community-based physical fitness program are effective in getting people to keep participating.

It awarded $465,000 to Posit Science, the company that founded BrainHQ, to partner with the San Francisco YMCA to develop a brain empowerment program that also includes training on better nutrition, physical fitness, stress reduction, and improvements in sleep and social skills Interactions included.

“The goal of this grant is, let’s take the well-known science of dementia risk reduction and create a curriculum that can be implemented in any YMCA or in church basements or networks of health centers across the country,” said Henry Mahncke, executive director of Posit Science .

Another new study funded by the Aging Institute is called PACT and is being conducted in Florida. The $44 million, five-year study will enroll 7,600 people and examine whether computer-assisted brain training exercises can reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

In all, the National Institute on Aging supports 423 active clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, almost twice as many of which involve non-pharmaceutical interventions as those at the YMCA and Rhode Island compared to those involving drugs .

Heather Snyder, Vice President of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer’s Association, said either approach could prove effective.

“Anyone who has lived with someone in their family with Alzheimer’s understands the challenges a family faces in improving the quality of life but also moving forward so people have more time to do and have things with their families that are best.” Quality of life they can,” she said.

That sentiment resonates with Tardif, the North Attleborough grandfather who lost his mother to Alzheimer’s and is a participant in the POINTER study in Rhode Island.

His favorite part of the experiment, he said, is group chats with the other volunteers, who offer healthy recipe tips like adding spinach to fruit smoothies, as well as encouragement to stick with the program when he’s tempted to skip some activities.

“I’m trying to get better at avoiding Alzheimer’s and having these people will help me on that journey,” he said. “I’m confident it will help my brain.”


Kay Lazar can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.

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