91É«ÇéƬ

Maintain Your Brain

Maintain Your Brain is a randomised controlled trial of multiple online interventions designed to target modifiable risk factors for dementia in general and Alzheimer's Disease in particular.

Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA)

Description

Maintain Your Brain is a randomised controlled trial of multiple online interventions designed to target modifiable risk factors for dementia in general and AD in particular. Risk factors to be addressed are physical inactivity, cognitive inactivity, depression/anxiety, overweight and obesity, and poor dietary habits. Up to four intervention modules (physical activity, nutrition, brain training, and peace of mind) will be administered based on individual risk profiles. All activities and assessments will be conducted on a computer with internet access via the Maintain Your Brain eHealth platform. 

Maintain Your Brain invited over 8,000 individuals through the 45 and Up Study to participate in the trial. Participants were aged 55-77 years and did not have diagnosed dementia, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. Maintain Your Brain will run for three years with annual assessments measuring risk factors and cognition. 
Project type

Longitudinal studies

Research project

Maintain Your Brain

Project status

Complete

Aims

  • Determine the efficacy of a multi-modal targeted intervention delivered on the internet to reduce the rate of cognitive decline in non-demented community-dwelling persons aged 55-77 years and in the long-term to delay the onset of dementia.

  • Examine the cost-effectiveness of the program with a view to making this a national and potentially a globally suitable program. 

Background

Dementia affects approximately 44 million people worldwide and by 2050, as the population ages, the prevalence of dementia is set to triple. Globally, it is a leading cause of disability with costs estimated to be more than 800 billion dollars and over the next forty years, these costs are projected to exceed those of all other chronic diseases. 

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia accounting for over 50% of cases. Available medicines reduce symptom progression but do not alter progression of the disease. In the absence of available disease-modifying drugs, a shift toward delaying onset and possible prevention of AD has gained momentum. Modifiable risk factors account for up to a third of the population attributable risk for AD. 

As dementia is primarily a disease of late-life, delaying the onset by targeting these modifiable risk factors can have a major impact on AD rates. Postponing onset by even two years could reduce AD prevalence by up to 20% and a 5-year delay could potentially halve AD prevalence. Interventions which reduce modifiable risk factors could result in significant impacts on worldwide prevalence.

Findings

  • Validation of outcomes measures study and pilot study completed. 

  • Main trial commenced in June 2018 and ended data collection in November 2021. 

Project members

Project leaders

Study Coordinator

Dr Megan Heffernan

Project member

Tiffany Chau

Other investigators

  • Professor Gavin Andrews (91É«ÇéƬ Sydney)
  • Professor Kaarin Anstey (91É«ÇéƬ Sydney)
  • Professor Maria Fiatarone Singh (University of Sydney)
  • Professor Louisa Jorm (91É«ÇéƬ Sydney)
  • Professor Nicola Lautenschlager (Melbourne University)
  • Professor Anthony Maeder (Western Sydney University)
  • Professor John McNeill (Monash University)
  • Professor Michael Valenzuela (University of Sydney)
  • Dr Heidi Welberry (91É«ÇéƬ Sydney)

Funding

NHMRC Dementia Team Research Grant.

Universities involved: 

  • 91É«ÇéƬ - Sydney
  • University of Sydney
  • Western Sydney University
  • University of Melbourne
  • Monash University
  • Flinders University.