A computer game for brain training developed by British neuroscientists has been shown to improve patient memory in the very early stages of cognitive decline and can help patients avoid some of the symptoms.
Researchers who developed the "Game Show" and tested its effects on cognition and motivation in a small experiment found that patients who played the game over a month had a 40 percent improvement.
George Savolich, who led the study at Cambridge University, said:
We hope to expand these results into future studies of healthy aging and mild Alzheimer's disease. Cognitive degradation is a huge global health problem.
According to the World Health Organization, about 47.5 million people are suffering in 2015, and this number is rising rapidly as life expectancy increases.
Savolich, whose findings were published in the International Journal of Neuroscience, as well as improving their memory levels in the game, said patients who played the game could save visual information more complex than those who did not.
Independent experts said the results of the study were encouraging, but the application needed to be tested against other forms of brain training in experiments involving more people.
Tara Spears-Jones of the University of Edinburgh says:
While this type of brain training will ultimately not be able to prevent or treat memory diseases such as cognitive decline, it is a promising way to improve the symptoms of early memory of the disease.
