About The Study: This randomized clinical trial found that among older adults at risk of cognitive decline and dementia, a structured, higher-intensity intervention of regular moderate-to-high-intensity physical exercise, adherence to the MIND diet, cognitive challenge and social engagement, and cardiovascular health monitoring had a statistically significant greater benefit on global cognition compared with an unstructured, self-guided intervention.

Known as the US Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (US POINTER) trial, this study was developed as a follow-up to the landmark 2015 Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) trial, which demonstrated significant cognitive benefit after two years of multidomain intervention in older adults at elevated risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Specifically, the POINTER trial aimed to compare the effects of two multimodal lifestyle interventions on global cognitive function – structured and unstructured – in at least 2,000 at-risk older adults.

Mathematics may not be the first thing people associate with Alzheimer’s disease research. But for Pedro Maia, an assistant professor of mathematics and data science at The University of Texas at Arlington, analyzing how different parts of the brain interact like a network is revealing new insights into one of the world’s most devastating brain disorders.