Tablet-Based Video Games Could Improve Brain Function in Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

AHA Publisher — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 07:00:28 +0000

University of Massachusetts Amherst via News-Medical – A University of Massachusetts Amherst biomedical informatician will use a $436,836 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the use of “serious games” played independently on computer tablets to improve brain function in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Sunghoon Ivan Lee, assistant professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences, aims to develop a human-centered platform that can motivate patients to stick to a therapeutic regimen of mobile game-playing at home on their own. Neuro-World, a collection of six games developed by Lee’s industrial partner in South Korea, Woorisoft, is designed to stimulate working, or short-term, memory and selective attention. People with MCI experience cognitive decline beyond what’s expected from normal aging, but not severe enough to significantly interfere with their daily activities. “There aren’t many solutions to stimulate cognitive ability in people with cognitive disabilities, especially in their homes, outside clinical settings,” says Lee, whose research focuses on designing and implementing mobile-health (mHealth) technologies that address the practical needs of people with motor or cognitive impairments. The goals of therapeutic treatments for MCI are to slow down the progression of the disease and lessen the impact of symptoms, preferably with non-pharmacological interventions like serious games because they are low cost, noninvasive, safe and without adverse side effects. Lee’s work addresses a key challenge of serious games in healthcare – developing a system that doesn’t require substantial involvement of trained caregivers and clinicians to oversee and motivate patients to follow the game protocol. Lee was introduced to Neuro-World by Hee-Tae Jung, a former post-doctoral researcher Lee had supervised at UMass Amherst. “I was intrigued by the Neuro-World concept and the science behind it,” Lee says. In a small, pilot study with stroke survivors to validate the efficacy of the system, Lee, Jung and colleagues found that Neuro-World games were capable not only of improving patients’ cognitive function but predicting the expected improvement, based on an analysis of their game performance. “We hope that knowing playing games can improve their cognitive function can further motivate patients to play more games,” Lee says. Using the NIH funding, researchers at UMass Amherst, University of Montreal and Rutgers will conduct a study with 50 people diagnosed with MCI. Half will be asked to play the video games for 30 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks. The other half will not play the Neuro-World games. Both groups will also receive conventional therapy. In addition to evaluating the ability of game-playing to improve cognitive function, researchers also aim to develop machine learning-based algorithms to predict cognitive function from the game performance. Finally, Lee and colleagues will conduct in-depth interviews with participants to understand their experiences with the games. They will use that information to optimize the system’s design in an effort to maximize patients’ participation with the game-based training. “We thought people with MCI would be the population that could really benefit from serious games – before they move into a more serious condition like dementia or Alzheimer’s.” (Sunghoon Ivan Lee, Assistant Professor, College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst) He hopes the study will advance the research and expand the options for effective, safe and low-cost mHealth therapies for people with cognitive impairments. “We believe that outcomes of this project will open a new door leading to previously unexplored datasets and understanding of patient-technology interactions to promote positive behavior changes to enable self-administered, serious game-based cognitive training,” Lee says. “And that can form the basis of a wide range of future investigations of hemiparesis rehabilitation and personalized disease management.” To read the original article click here.

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How Lifestyle Changes Alter Your Risk of Dementia

AHA Publisher — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 07:00:03 +0000

Damon Hines via NaturalHeatlh365 – The first signs of dementia are subtle: irritability, short-temperedness, and small changes in personality that grow increasingly acute. The full-blown symptoms are anything but subtle: a loss of short and long-term memory, inability to reason, a lack of emotional control, confusion, disorientation. Roughly 50 million people live with dementia. Experts have predicted the disease to be “the biggest health crisis of our time” and the 21st century’s leading killer. So, the big question remains, is dementia preventable? Many integrative healthcare providers say “yes!” Even in conventional medical terms, according to a report from the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care, 40 percent of dementia cases worldwide can be delayed or prevented with simple lifestyle changes. How to Combat the Biggest Health Crisis of Our Time: Better Education and Personal Decisions Will Lead to More Successful Outcomes Annual statistics indicate that dementia was the leading cause of death in Britain in 2018, with one in eight people dying from the disease. In addition, the number of people with dementia living alone is expected to double by 2040. The United States isn’t looking much better, in terms of dementia statistics. Unfortunately, due in part to the lack of effective (conventional) treatments, the risk of a person developing dementia has been going up – for many years! Many seniors tend to be overmedicated and malnourished. No doubt, Western medicine is doing a poor job at alerting the public about the true dangers to brain health. Of course, when it comes to looking at lifestyle habits, it’s a real challenge to determine the risk to an individual. But, no doubt, more people need to learn about the environmental risk factors that cause dis-ease in the brain. A poor diet, chronic stress and loneliness can wreak havoc on brain function. It’s Time to Take Action: Make Those Lifestyle Changes (Now) Before It’s Too Late The Lancet Commission reports that dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by 40 percent by addressing 12 lifestyle factors, including midlife obesity, excessive alcohol intake, exposure to air pollution, depression, social isolation, high blood pressure, smoking, and a lack of physical activity. It’s important to remember that dementia is not an inescapable part of aging. The Lancet Commission’s findings are, for the most part, a risk assessment, and a list of healthy behaviors and choices people can engage in to reduce the risk of developing dementia. Keep in mind: these are long-term lifestyle changes. Eating a healthy diet for only a month or going to the gym for a few weeks isn’t going to have a significant effect on overall brain function. Dementia typically appears in one’s sixties or seventies, although it’s been known to arise as early as one’s thirties. While changing an unhealthy lifestyle at any age is helpful in reducing the risk of dementia, the earlier the change is made, the better! Don’t wait for a diagnosis of dementia. Strategies for reducing one’s risk and tackling lifestyle changes (now!) – both personally and as a society – are the best ways to defeat this dreadful health condition. Start taking those small steps toward a healthier lifestyle with better (organic) food choices and cleaner water for drinking and cooking. Remove toxic personal care and household cleaning products from your home and purify your indoor air space, as soon as possible. Each positive change in your life will feel so good. Ultimately, it’s up to us to make a change and demand more from our government “health” officials. A healthier society is one that uses an integrative approach to healthcare for each and every one of us. Let’s hope that day is coming soon. Sources for this article include: TheLancet.com This article has been modified. To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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Tablet-Based Video Games Could Improve Brain Function in Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

How Lifestyle Changes Alter Your Risk of Dementia