A
study published online (ahead of print) in the International Journal of
Neuroscience indicates that “more is better,” when it comes to brain training
for Parkinson’s patients. Researchers used computerized exercises now found in
the BrainHQ online program from Posit Science, in this first of its kind
dose-response study.
The
NIH-funded researchers from the University of South Florida were interested in
learning whether more training resulted in better outcomes and whether training
gains would persist over time. They found that more training resulted in
better outcomes, and that training benefits persisted over the six-month study
period.
These
results are an extension of positive findings in a prior study by the same
researchers. That prior randomized control trial of 87 adults (aged 40 and
older with mild to moderate stages of Parkinson’s) compared a 44-person
intervention group, which engaged in computerized speed of processing training
(for 20 hours over a three-month period) with a 43-person delayed treatment
control group.
The
primary outcome measure was performance on the Useful Field of View (UFOV)
assessment, which provides an objective measure of visual processing speed and
attention. Two secondary outcome measures examined self-reports of cognitive
abilities and depression.
Researchers
found significant improvements in the training group in UFOV performance.
The secondary outcome measures did not yield significant results.
Other
studies in healthy older adults have shown that brain training that improves
UFOV scores also improves standard measures of cognition (e.g., speed,
attention, and executive function), as well as measures of affect (e.g., mood
and confidence) and real world function (e.g., driving, functional
independence, self-rated health).
This
follow-on study permitted people in both the intervention and delayed treatment
groups in the prior study to use BrainHQ for another 3 months. The delayed
treatment group was encouraged to train for 20 hours, while the intervention
group was permitted to train as much as they wanted. This was designed to
create dose-response data for the six-month follow-up measurement date of the
prior study.
Of
those who had already trained with the speed of processing exercises, 52%
continued to train in the optional 3-month follow-on period, and 84% of the
delayed treatment group trained.
The
researchers found that each hour of training, on average, resulted in a 3.53
millisecond improvement in the UFOV assessment, such that 20 hours of training
would lead to an average gain of 72.6 milliseconds faster performance on the
UFOV assessment. Other studies have shown that healthy older adults
decline at a rate of 15.6 milliseconds per year in the UFOV assessment, as they
age.
Researchers
looked at training results for the initial intervention group and found
significant changes persisted across the six-month period. This is the
first persistence study in Parkinson’s. Other studies have shown some
significant persistence among healthy older adults for as long as a 10-year
study period.
This
study used a suite of five visual speed of processing exercises. Those
exercises are part of the commercially-available BrainHQ platform under the
exercises names: Double Decision, Target Tracker, Visual Sweeps, Hawk Eye and
Eye for Detail.
“These
are encouraging results,” said Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science, the
maker of BrainHQ. “This is the first evidence that ‘more is better’ when
it comes to training people living with Parkinson’s, as well as the first
evidence in this population that these changes persist. We plan to continue
research in this area, with the goal of taking a training regimen in this area
to regulators for approval and distribution to people living with Parkinson’s.”
For
more information, contact pr@positiscience.com.
http://www.einnews.com/pr_news/368502790/study-more-brain-training-is-better-for-parkinson-s-patients
No comments:
Post a Comment