The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world’s largest gathering of researchers from around the world FOCused on Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
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“If you can reduce the chance of getting dementia by almost 50% with this, that’s huge”, says Michael Roizen, chairman of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, who wasn’t involved in the study.
In the first study, scientists at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre in Wisconsin looked at white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) – white spots that appear on brain scans and are associated with Alzheimer’s – in 284 late-middle-aged patients considered at risk of the disease.
The results presented at the conference are the latest culled from follow-up research in the long-term Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly study, which sought to find the most effective of three types of cognitive intervention, including a hard video game. Jerri Edwards, director of the School of Aging Studies and Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute at the University of South Florida, who presented the data and led the most recent analysis, says the researchers wanted to disclose the findings as soon as possible.
Those who went through more than 10 of the brain training sessions were 48 percent less likely over 10 years to experience dementia or cognitive decline. A Toronto study discovered that socially active people who have attained higher education, plus a mentally stimulating profession, were better shielded from dementia, even if they had poor nutrition – a factor that should increase chances for the disease.
After 10 years, those in the computer-based brain training group had a 33 per cent reduction in cases of cognitive impairment or dementia compared to the control group. “We’ve found effects of training at that age range, but over a period of six weeks, not 10 years”. The user identifies an object, such as a truck, at the centre of their gaze while at the same time identifying a vehicle in the periphery.
“It’s a promising result from an interesting data set”, he said.
Silverberg added, “Most people think of Alzheimer’s as primarily a memory disorder, but we do know from years of research that it also can start as a behavioral issue”.
With so much research happening to not only treat Alzheimer’s disease, but also to prevent it, researchers are hoping that doctors will stop under treating patients and instead work towards a cure rather than just research for a cure.
The computerized brain training exercise is commercially available as the “Double Decision” game, one of a suite of cognitive exercises marketed online by the San Francisco-based Posit Science Corp. There’s been increasing belief that the brain has plasticity, meaning it can rejuvenate with training at any age instead of necessarily deteriorating, and speed processing exercises are one manner that has proven effective in doing so, Mr. Merzenich said. The program got harder with each correct answer.
Does the person view herself/himself as a burden to family? Researchers gauged participants’ mood, confidence and self-rated health, and surveyed their ability to conduct such daily tasks as preparing meals, driving and taking care of finances. “I’m sick of our studies being ignored”, she said. The objective of the computer-based training was to help people take in and process information on the screen faster.
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“Increasingly, research is showing us that there are things we can do throughout our lives to reduce the likelihood of developing dementia”. “There’s a preponderance of evidence that this type of training has multiple benefits and the risk is minimal, and it’s not even expensive”.
