Angela Lunde

Physical exercise has been demonstrated to help maintain cognition in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (pwMCI). We previously demonstrated yoga’s benefit in maintenance of memory related activities of daily living in pwMCI. Our research also has shown yoga helps sustain positive psychological well-being of care partners at 12 months. In this analysis, we sought to examine the impact of yoga training on physical performance in pwMCI and their care partners. In this multisite, randomized clinical trial, we enrolled 272 patients meeting National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer’s Association criteria for MCI and a care partner. The intervention program was modeled on the Mayo Clinic HABIT Healthy Action to Benefit Independence and Thinking® program. Of 5 possible interventions (memory compensation training, computerized cognitive training, yoga, support group, and wellness education), 1 of 5 interventions was randomly selected to be withheld for each intervention group. This randomization allowed for the examination of the impact of receiving yoga or no yoga on physical functioning [as measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)] up to 1 year post intervention, as well as the comparative effectiveness on physical functioning of the various interventions. There was a general pattern of physical decline on the SPPB over the year in pwMCI, regardless of yoga training (yoga vs. no yoga d=0.06, p=0.79). Among care partners, those who received yoga had better physical function at 12 months compared to those who did not (d=0.39 points, p=0.041). While not reaching statistical significance, yoga training tended to have a greater effect on SPPB than computerized cognitive training (d = 0.46 points, p = .063) or wellness education (d = 0.42 points, p =.088). Participation in yoga had a positive impact on physical performance outcomes at 12 month follow-up for care partners, but did not counteract general physical decline in pwMCI.

The first Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) Research Centers of Excellence (RCOE) Investigator’s meeting was held on December 14, 2017, in New Orleans. The program was established to increase patient access to clinical experts on Lewy body dementia (LBD), which includes dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), and to create a clinical trials-ready network. Four working groups (WG) were created to pursue the LBDA RCOE aims: (1) increase access to high-quality clinical care, (2) increase access to support for people living with LBD and their caregivers, (3) increase knowledge of LBD among medical and allied (or other) professionals, and (4) create infrastructure for a clinical trials-ready network as well as resources to advance the study of new therapeutics.

This pilot study examined the functional impact of computerized versus compensatory calendar training in cognitive rehabilitation participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Fifty-seven participants with amnestic MCI completed randomly assigned calendar or computer training. A standard care control group was used for comparison. Measures of adherence, memory-based activities of daily living (mADLs), and self-efficacy were completed. The calendar training group demonstrated significant improvement in mADLs compared to controls, while the computer training group did not. Calendar training may be more effective in improving mADLs than computerized intervention. However, this study highlights how behavioral trials with fewer than 30–50 participants per arm are likely underpowered, resulting in seemingly null findings.