Unique Brain Exercise Shown in Study to Lower Risk of Dementia

SAN FRANCISCO, July 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Researchers announced breakthrough study results Monday -- indicating that a particular form and dose of brain training can reduce the risk of dementia by 48 percent over a ten-year period in cognitively healthy, community-dwelling older adults.  The computerized exercise found effective in the study is currently marketed by Posit Science to subscribers of its BrainHQ online service.

Dr. Jerri Edwards of the University of South Florida revealed the results from a 10-year, longitudinal study at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto. These are the latest results reported from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, a multi-site, randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institute on Aging.

The ACTIVE Study enrolled 2,802 healthy adults aged 65 and older, who were randomized into four groups: 1) a strategy-based memory training, 2) a strategy-based reasoning training, 3) a perceptual-based, computerized speed of processing training, and 4) a no-contact control group measured at the same time as the intervention arms of the study.

Participants in the three intervention arms were asked to complete 10 hours of training over a five-week period.  To collect dosing data, a subset of participants were asked to complete additional booster sessions of training after 11 and 35 months.

Participants in the ACTIVE Study were measured on an extensive battery of standardized assessments, including primary outcomes related to speed, memory, reasoning, and functional performance, and secondary outcomes related to mood, confidence, self-rated health, predicted healthcare costs, and driving. Participants were assessed at the beginning of the study, after five weeks of training, and at one, two, three, five and 10 years after training. 

Numerous journal articles have previously been published on primary and secondary outcomes at each measurement period. This is the first report of results on the incidence of dementia at the 10-year mark.

Researchers found no significant difference in incidence of dementia for the memory or reasoning training groups as compared to the control group. However, as compared to the control group, the speed of processing training group had a 33 percent reduction in risk of dementia, a statistically significant difference (p=0.012).