$44 Million NIH Grant to See If Dementia Can Be Prevented

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $44.4 million grant to researchers at the University of South Florida in Tampa for the Preventing Alzheimer's with Cognitive Training (PACT) Study, reports Globe Newswire . The grant advances earlier research showing that a small amount of cognitive training significantly lowered the risk and incidence of dementia among older adults. The computerized brain training used in the previous study and the new study is deployed in Posit Science's BrainHQ app, which is founded on principles of brain plasticity — how the brain rewires itself via learning. "This study addresses the central question that most people have about brain training — does training your brain reduce your chances of dementia?" said Posit Science CEO Henry Mahncke. The PACT Study plans to enlist 7,600 adults 65 and older, to test BrainHQ exercises' ability to reduce the incidence of medical diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment and dementia. A feasibility study with more than 1,000 participants has been completed, and the NIH grant intends to bring the study to scale, with completion targeted for 2027.