THERAPY-Magazin
Brain moving too slowly? Exercise helps.
New research shows that combining exercise with games can slow dementia symptoms and improve memory, balance, and reaction time. Discover how exergames like Dividat Senso offer new hope.
Redaktion
THERAPY Magazin
Unfortunately dementia diseases, such as Alzheimer’s dementia, are widespread and feared. They not only limit thinking performance (memory, for example), but also have an impact on everyday life and independence. This also applies to mobility: people with dementia are more likely to fall than people without dementia. The affected people themselves and their family members suffer. People are still waiting for the big breakthrough in the medication industry, year after year large sums are invested in research into dementia treatment. However, one thing is already clear and has been proven by many study findings: exercise helps!
Game playing to fight dementia
Cognitive-motor training helps fight Alzheimer’s and dementia: An international team of researchers, along with ETH, was able to prove this for the first time in a study. The training platform used comes from an ETH spin-off. Training with the Senso platform strengthens cognitive abilities such as attention, concentration, memory or orientation in patients with dementia. Being diagnosed with dementia turns both the life of the person affected and that of their relatives upside down: Gradually, brain functions deteriorate. Those affected lose the ability to plan, remember, or behave appropriately. At the same time, their motor skills also degrade. In the end, dementia patients are no longer able to manage their daily lives on their own and require comprehensive care. In Switzerland alone, more than 150,000 people share this fate, and around 30,000 new cases are added every year.
So far, all attempts to find medication to counteract the disease have failed. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, the most common of several forms of dementia, are still not curable. But a clinical study conducted in Belgium, along with ETH researcher Eling de Bruin, now shows for the first time that cognitive-motor training improves both the cognitive and physical abilities of severely impaired dementia patients. A fitness game, also called “Excergame”, developed by the ETH spin-off “Dividat” was used for the study.
Cognitive-motor training helps fight Alzheimer’s and dementia: An international team of researchers, along with ETH, was able to prove this for the first time in a study. The training platform used comes from an ETH spin-off. Training with the Senso platform strengthens cognitive abilities such as attention, concentration, memory or orientation in patients with dementia. Being diagnosed with dementia turns both the life of the person affected and that of their relatives upside down: Gradually, brain functions deteriorate. Those affected lose the ability to plan, remember, or behave appropriately. At the same time, their motor skills also degrade. In the end, dementia patients are no longer able to manage their daily lives on their own and require comprehensive care. In Switzerland alone, more than 150,000 people share this fate, and around 30,000 new cases are added every year.
So far, all attempts to find medication to counteract the disease have failed. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, the most common of several forms of dementia, are still not curable. But a clinical study conducted in Belgium, along with ETH researcher Eling de Bruin, now shows for the first time that cognitive-motor training improves both the cognitive and physical abilities of severely impaired dementia patients. A fitness game, also called “Excergame”, developed by the ETH spin-off “Dividat” was used for the study.
Better cognitive performance thanks to training
A team of scientists led by ETH researcher Patrick Eggenberger already proved in 2015 that older people who exercise body and mind simultaneously perform better cognitively and, in this way, can prevent cognitive impairments. But this study was conducted exclusively with healthy people. “There has long been the assumption that physical and mental training also has a positive effect on dementia”, explains de Bruin, who works together with Eggenberger at the Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport at ETH Zurich. “But until now, it has proved difficult to motivate dementia patients to engage in physical activities over longer periods of time.”
A team of scientists led by ETH researcher Patrick Eggenberger already proved in 2015 that older people who exercise body and mind simultaneously perform better cognitively and, in this way, can prevent cognitive impairments. But this study was conducted exclusively with healthy people. “There has long been the assumption that physical and mental training also has a positive effect on dementia”, explains de Bruin, who works together with Eggenberger at the Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport at ETH Zurich. “But until now, it has proved difficult to motivate dementia patients to engage in physical activities over longer periods of time.”
ETH spin-off combines exercise and fun
To change this, Eva van het Reve founded the ETH spin-off Dividat together with her brother Joris. “We wanted to improve the lives of older people with a customised training programme”, says van het Reve. Using playful exercises, people who are already physically and cognitively impaired should also be encouraged to exercise. This is how the Senso training platform was born. This platform consists of a screen including game software and a floor plate with five fields that measures steps, weight shifts and balance. Users try to use their feet to reproduce a sequence of movements given on the screen. In this way, they’re carrying out physical movements and cognitive functions at the same time. The fact that the fitness game is also fun for the study subjects makes it easier to motivate them to exercise regularly.
To change this, Eva van het Reve founded the ETH spin-off Dividat together with her brother Joris. “We wanted to improve the lives of older people with a customised training programme”, says van het Reve. Using playful exercises, people who are already physically and cognitively impaired should also be encouraged to exercise. This is how the Senso training platform was born. This platform consists of a screen including game software and a floor plate with five fields that measures steps, weight shifts and balance. Users try to use their feet to reproduce a sequence of movements given on the screen. In this way, they’re carrying out physical movements and cognitive functions at the same time. The fact that the fitness game is also fun for the study subjects makes it easier to motivate them to exercise regularly.
Dementia patients train for eight weeks
For the study, an international team led by Nathalie Swinnen, who holds a doctorate from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and is supervised by ETH researcher de Bruin, recruited 45 study subjects. They live in two Belgian nursing homes, were on average 85 years old at the time of the survey and all showed severe dementia symptoms. “The participants were randomly divided into two groups”, Eling de Bruin said, explaining the study design. “The first group trained with the Dividat Senso for 15 minutes three times a week over a period of eight weeks, while the second group listened to and watched music videos of their choice.” After the eight-week training programme, the physical, cognitive and mental performance of all subjects was measured in comparison to the beginning of the study.
For the study, an international team led by Nathalie Swinnen, who holds a doctorate from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and is supervised by ETH researcher de Bruin, recruited 45 study subjects. They live in two Belgian nursing homes, were on average 85 years old at the time of the survey and all showed severe dementia symptoms. “The participants were randomly divided into two groups”, Eling de Bruin said, explaining the study design. “The first group trained with the Dividat Senso for 15 minutes three times a week over a period of eight weeks, while the second group listened to and watched music videos of their choice.” After the eight-week training programme, the physical, cognitive and mental performance of all subjects was measured in comparison to the beginning of the study.
Playing regularly has an effect
The results can give hope to dementia patients and their relatives: Training with the Senso platform actually strengthens cognitive abilities such as attention, concentration, memory or orientation. “For the first time, there is hope that we can not only delay but also mitigate dementia symptoms through targeted play”, de Bruin emphasises. It’s particularly noteworthy that the control group continued to deteriorate during the eight weeks, while the training group showed significant improvements. “These are very encouraging results, which are also in line with the expectation that patients with dementia are more likely to deteriorate without training”, de Bruin points out. But the playful training doesn’t just have a positive effect on cognitive performance. The researchers were also able to measure positive effects on physical abilities such as reaction time. This meant the study subjects in the training group reacted significantly faster after only eight weeks, while the control group also deteriorated here. This is encouraging in that the speed with which older people react to impulses is crucial to whether they can prevent a fall.
The results can give hope to dementia patients and their relatives: Training with the Senso platform actually strengthens cognitive abilities such as attention, concentration, memory or orientation. “For the first time, there is hope that we can not only delay but also mitigate dementia symptoms through targeted play”, de Bruin emphasises. It’s particularly noteworthy that the control group continued to deteriorate during the eight weeks, while the training group showed significant improvements. “These are very encouraging results, which are also in line with the expectation that patients with dementia are more likely to deteriorate without training”, de Bruin points out. But the playful training doesn’t just have a positive effect on cognitive performance. The researchers were also able to measure positive effects on physical abilities such as reaction time. This meant the study subjects in the training group reacted significantly faster after only eight weeks, while the control group also deteriorated here. This is encouraging in that the speed with which older people react to impulses is crucial to whether they can prevent a fall.
Better understanding processes in the brain
De Bruin’s research group is currently working on replicating the results of this pilot study in people with mild cognitive impairment – a precursor to dementia. Therefore, the neuronal processes in the brain, which underlie the observed cognitive and physical improvements, will also be investigated in more detail using MRI images.
De Bruin’s research group is currently working on replicating the results of this pilot study in people with mild cognitive impairment – a precursor to dementia. Therefore, the neuronal processes in the brain, which underlie the observed cognitive and physical improvements, will also be investigated in more detail using MRI images.
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References:
- Swinnen N, Vandenbulcke N, de Bruin ED, Akkerman R, Stubbs B, Firth J, Vancampfort D: The efficacy of exergaming in people with major neurocognitive disorder residing in long-term care facilities: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy. March 30 2021
- ETH Zürich (ETH News > Beiträge > April 2021) www.ethz.ch/de/news-und-veranstaltungen/eth-news/archiv in Kooperation mit Dividat AG Neuhofstrasse 14, Schindellegi 8834, Switzerland www.dividat.com
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