Healthcare technology company SMART Brain Aging, Inc. has announced that its one-on-one patient intervention program for aging brain health — Brain U Online — is now available to adults age 50+ through online subscription and iOS app, Brain U Lite. The new program is the result of 5 years of clinical trials with more than 3,000 participants at Harvard Medical School/Boston University School of Medicine.
Used by the country’s leading memory care facilities, Brain U Online and Brain U Lite are the world’s first scientifically-supported programs developed specifically for aging adults and those with early stage dementia. When used immediately following physical exercise, the programs are proven to delay progression of the disease by up to 2.5 years and reduce the negative cognitive impact by up to 45 percent.
Growth of Dementia in the Baby Boomer Population
Dubbed “the defining disease of the baby boomer generation,” dementia affects more than 60 million people worldwide. In the US alone, that number is expected to triple in the next 10-20 years, as more than 75 million baby boomers continue to age and live longer. According to the World Health Organization, someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds.* Promising new research funded by the National Institute on Aging shows cognitive and functional impairment in early stage dementia may be slowed by lifestyle and nutritional changes and the right kind of cognitive exercise.**
Developed by geriatric clinical neuropsychologist and researcher Dr. John DenBoer, Brain U Online features more than 20,0000 exercises focused on processing speed, executive functioning, speech and language, memory and attention and concentration, while the iOS app, Brain U Lite, puts a collection of hundreds of exercises at your fingertips and is designed to be used “on the go” during or immediately after physical exercise.
“We developed SMART Brain Aging with one purpose: to help prevent, delay and reduce the impact of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia so that patients can continue to live full, independent lives even after diagnosis,” said Dr. John DenBoer, CEO and Founder of SMART Brain Aging, Inc. “Let me be clear, this is not a “brain game.” It is the first and only scientifically-supported digital therapy program developed specifically for aging adults who want to maintain healthy brain function and those suffering from the early stages of dementia.”
An innovative line of research has shown that when cognitive exercise is paired with aerobic based exercise, there is a significant chance of reducing microvascular ischemic changes (vascular dementia) and mitigating the advancement of cortical atrophy (Alzheimer’s dementia). With the rise of exercise among America’s aging population, Brain U Online and Brain U Lite could be formative programs in the battle against dementia.
How Brain U Online Works
Brain U Online is not a “brain training game”–it’s a program more common to therapy which uses new and novel learning to fire up areas of the brain that produce neuroprotective chemicals, essentially keeping the brain cortex from shrinking, and subsequently helping to prevent and delay cognitive impairment.
Brain U Online has more than 20,000 exercises focused on processing speed, executive functioning, speech and language, memory, attention and concentration. Designed for individuals “on the go” and to be used during or immediately following aerobic exercise, Brain U Lite has a smaller selection of exercises, but with just as much variety. Brain U Online and Brain U Lite do not teach individuals how to perform the games better (i.e., teaching to the test).
Brain U Online and Brain U Lite were developed specifically for aging individuals, taking into account visual and hearing impairment, as well as physical tremors, and compensate for lip readers by having an on-screen person read the exercises and incorporating larger text and handwriting help.
“Dr. DenBoer and his team have developed a program, based on many years of research and backed by scientific evidence, that has had a positive impact on improving and preserving the lives of thousands of aging individuals and dementia sufferers,” said Dr. Paul Nussbaum, clinical neuropsychologist and Adjunct Associate Professor in neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “We need to bring these types of intervention programs to more patients and caregivers so they can be empowered to live their best lives.”
References
* National Institute on Aging–Four Systematic Reviews on Prevention of Dementia; December, 2017
** The Impact of Physical and Mental Activity on Cognitive Aging (Current Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience)
