LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Medical researchers have officially identified a “gold-standard” method to combat cognitive decline, revealing that a specific, low-cost brain-training exercise can reduce the risk of dementia by a quarter.
This landmark discovery, announced on Monday, February 9, stems from the long-term ACTIVE trial, a randomized controlled study involving over 2,800 participants. Unlike previous observational data, this clinical trial provides the first direct evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship between mental stimulation and disease prevention.
Published in the journal ‘Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Research’, the study, co-authored by Marilyn Albert of Johns Hopkins University, specifically highlighted “speed-of-processing” training as the only effective intervention among several tested methods. While memory and reasoning exercises showed no statistically significant impact, those who engaged in fewer than 24 hours of speed training over a 20-year period saw a 25 percent reduction in dementia rates.
“For the first time, this is a gold-standard study that’s given us an idea of what we can do to reduce risk for developing dementia,” Albert told AFP.
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This specific exercise, known as “Double Decision” and available via the BrainHQ app, requires users to identify rapidly appearing cars and road signs on a screen. Researchers believe the success of the task lies in its “adaptive” nature, which increases in difficulty based on the user’s performance.
Albert suggests the impact likely stems from improved neural connectivity, noting that the trial’s diverse participant pool, including a 25-percent minority representation indicates the findings are universally applicable. The economic and social implications of the find are described by the team as “extraordinarily important.”
With the World Health Organization (WHO), reporting that 57 million people worldwide currently live with dementia, implementing this $100 billion cost-saving measure could redefine global elderly care. However, experts warn that the results are specific to this one type of training and should not be viewed as a blanket endorsement for all generic brain-game apps currently on the market.
Ultimately, future research will now focus on the exact biological mechanisms behind the “Double Decision” task to develop even more potent digital therapeutics.
