PROVIDENCE – Butler Hospital’s Memory and Aging Program was recently part of the Alzheimer Association’s U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk, or U.S. POINTER study.
Butler and The Miriam Hospital represented New England at the Providence research site, which was one of five locations included in the study. Other research sites include Chicago; Houston; Sacramento, Calif.; and Winston-Salem, N.C.
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The two-year clinical trial was designed to evaluate whether healthy lifestyle changes can protect memory and other thinking abilities in older adults.
“We are opening a new era in promoting brain health, and it is encouraging that this study proves and gives further evidence that focused lifestyle intervention with exercise, diet, brain training and heart health can improve memory,” said Dr. Stephen Salloway, principal investigator of the U.S. POINTER Providence site and founding director of Butler’s Memory and Aging Program.
Butler recruited 376 participants and now has more than 250 participants in the U.S. POINTER alumni extension, which is another four years of collecting data on participants in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
“Medicine has given us the ability to live longer, and this is an opportunity to make sure that I can enjoy as many of my later years as I can,” said David Quinn, a 74-year-old study participant from Warwick. “My grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease, and it was sad to see her disconnect. I want to stay interested and involved.”
The U.S. POINTER study is known as the largest participant research trial in memory and aging history, according to Butler.
The study showed that a structured lifestyle program targeting multiple risk factors can improve cognition in older adults who are at risk of cognitive decline.
The study tested two different lifestyle interventions in a population of older adults at risk for cognitive decline and dementia.
There were 2,111 participants enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to one of the two interventions. Eligibility criteria for participants included being between ages 60 and 79, having a sedentary lifestyle, suboptimal diet and cardiometabolic health, as well as a family history of memory impairment.
The study findings showed cognitive benefits were consistent across age, sex, ethnicity, heart health status and apolipoprotein E-e4 genotype. Also, a structured lifestyle intervention with more support and accountability showed more improvement compared with a self-guided intervention.
The Alzheimer’s Association has invested almost $50 million to lead the study along with funds from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health for add-on studies looking into imaging, vascular measures, as well as sleep and gut microbiome-related health data. The Alzheimer’s Association is also planning to invest $40 million over the next four years to continue following U.S. POINTER participants and to bring interventions to communities across the country.
The study also plans to launch several programs, including a personal brain health assessment tool; a virtual brain health training program for health care providers; a community recognition program for organizations focused on brain health; and a brain health roundtable that will bring together leaders in health care, public health, community and corporate industries to boost impact.
The results were recently reported at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.
“As the burden of dementia grows worldwide, U.S. POINTER affirms a vital public health message: Healthy behavior has a powerful impact on brain health,” said Joanne Pike, CEO and president of the Alzheimer’s Association. “The positive results of U.S. POINTER encourages us to look at the potential for a combination of a lifestyle program and drug treatment as the next frontier in our fight against cognitive decline and possibly dementia.”
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.
