Key Points:
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RetainYourBrain™ software tested in large, 6-month study
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Double-blind, randomized controlled trial (RCT) is evidentiary gold-standard
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Study concluded October 2024
Retain Health has wrapped up its first large research study using proprietary software for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk reduction.
The six-month Risk Education Technology as Individualized Neuroprotection (RETAIN) study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, award number 5R44AG071416. Continuing analyses will examine the software’s effects on AD risk reduction and cognition.
Participant recruitment began in December 2023, and the study exceeded its target as 992 participants were enrolled ahead of schedule. Currently, initial results are being reviewed for dissemination in the near future.
Gold Standard Research
The randomized, controlled clinical trial, considered the gold standard methodology in scientific research, compared calculated Alzheimer’s risk scores of the group using the Retain software (intervention) with those receiving a time-neutral general education version (control).
The goal: to determine if it is possible to protect brain health and reduce Alzheimer’s risk through the use of software addressing individualized, modifiable risk factors.
“Given that Alzheimer’s disease affects such a large population and that there is no effective therapy, the potential impact of a guided, personalized intervention that is safe, easy to use, and effective would be quite noteworthy” says study principal co-investigator Robert Krikorian, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati. “A relatively small reduction of risk can translate to tens of thousands fewer cases of Alzheimer’s.”
About the Study
Potential subjects were ages 53 or older, with a family history of Alzheimer’s, living in the U.S., and using a cellphone. Eligible subjects were further screened to ensure a well characterized study population.
All subjects took a series of baseline assessments and cognitive tests, which were repeated at 3 and 6 months.
Those in the study’s intervention arm received the RetainYourBrainTM software, an individualized brain health education and lifestyle recommendation application. The software assessed participants’ individual risk factors, identified priority areas to lower risk, and engaged participants with bi-directional text message communication to verify and promote adherence to recommendations.
The control arm also took the assessments and cognitive tests but received general Alzheimer’s education, no lifestyle recommendations, and no text message support.
Assessments included:
- The Australian National University Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Index (ANU-ADRI), a validated tool that assesses exposure to risk factors
- The Cogstate Computerized Brief Battery, four online cognitive tasks that measured attention, processing speed, learning and working memory
- A Word Recall exercise
- The Fear of Alzheimer’s Disease Scale (FADS), which measures anticipatory dementia
- A Participation Events Survey to assess safety of using the software
- A User Satisfaction Survey
- A Cost Assessment Survey
User Satisfaction
Preliminary results from the user-satisfaction survey indicate that:
- 91% of participants reported increased awareness of strategies that may reduce AD risk or delay its onset
- 83% had increased motivations to make lifestyle changes
- 87% would recommend the product to a friend, family member or colleague
- 92% have opted to continue using the software post-trial.