Online Brain Training Intervention for Over 50s
Condition: Dementia; Mild Cognitive Impairment
MeSH terms: Cognitive Dysfunction
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study is an open trial investigating the long-term use of an online brain training
      programme for adults over 50. It will determine whether there is sustained benefit to
      cognition, and whether this group can be engaged in this form of intervention over a period
      of 12 months.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study will evaluate an optimised brain training programme to determine whether it is
      engaging for older adults and whether it results in improvement or maintenance of cognition
      over a 12 month period.

      The Brain Training intervention

      The programme is an updated version of the original 'Brain Test Britain' intervention, which
      was successfully evaluated in a large previous trial. It consists of a series of games or
      tests, completed on a computer. Each test is designed to target the participants' reasoning
      and problem-solving ability, for example by asking them to balance weights on a see-saw or
      select the 'odd-one-out' from a series of shapes. As the participants progress over the
      course of the study they will receive increasingly more challenging versions of each test,
      depending on their performance. The intervention has been updated from the original to
      improve engagement through improved visuals, more intelligent difficulty setting and a more
      engaging delivery platform.

      The research delivery platform: PROTECT

      A novel infrastructure resource has been developed at King's College London within the
      Maudsley Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia (BRU-D), which provides the opportunity to
      deliver the intervention to large numbers of older adults. The Platform for Research Online
      to investigate Cognition and Genetics in Ageing (PROTECT) is an online research tool. PROTECT
      is currently recruiting a cohort of over 10,000 adults over 50 who are cognitively healthy or
      have early cognitive impairment. Participants provide demographic and lifestyle information
      and will complete a battery of validated cognitive assessments annually. The focus of all
      research conducted through PROTECT is on the prevention of dementia and risk reduction. The
      optimised brain training intervention will be delivered through this platform. PROTECT has
      ethical approval from the NHS Research Ethics Service Committee for London Bridge (Ref:
      13/LO/1578).

      Study Design

      Design: 12-month open online clinical trial Participants: 5000 adults over 50 Setting:
      Intervention delivered at home, online through the PROTECT website

      Recruitment

      Recruitment will be achieved through the PROTECT site through a national advertisement
      strategy. This will be accomplished through partnerships with the media and third sector. All
      participants registered on PROTECT will be invited to take part and provided with the
      information sheet. Participants will consent through the secure online procedure on the
      PROTECT site.
    

Intervention name(s): Brain training programme
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): An online package of brain training programmes
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Healthy Ageing