Pilot Study of Brain Fitness Program Conducted by Dr. Susan Pressler
Dr. Pressler and colleagues examine the efficacy of a computerized intervention program for heart failure patients experiencing cognitive dysfunction.
Dr. Susan Pressler, Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, served as the principal investigator of a randomized pilot study to test a computerized cognitive training intervention called Brain Fitness in patients with heart failure (HF). Although research indicates that 25-50% of patients with heart failure experience cognitive dysfunction in memory, psychomotor speed, attention, and executive function, very few interventions have been tested to improve cognitive function in these patients. The study by Pressler and colleagues is one of the first cognitive training interventions tested in heart failure patients. Results of the study, entitled “Nurse Enhanced Memory Intervention in Heart Failure: MEMOIR Study,” were published in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of Cardiac Failure.
Co-investigators from the University of Michigan were Dr. Bruno Giordani, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neurology, School of Medicine; Dr. Todd Koelling, School of Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Cardiology; Dr. David Ronis, School of Nursing and Department of Veteran Affairs; Dr. Dean Smith, School of Public Health; and Dr. Barbara Therrien, School of Nursing Professor Emeritus. Others who participated in conducting the study were Dr. Barbara Jean Sullivan, Clinical Assistant Professor, PhD students Penny Riley, Cheng-Chen Chou, and Ann-Marie Frankini, and MS graduate Letitia Baxter.
The Brain Fitness intervention program by PositScience is based on scientific principles of neuroplasticity. Through a series of intense training exercises, the program is designed to strengthen a person’s ability to learn and recall new information. In the MEMOIR study, patients with HF were randomly assigned to either the Brain Fitness program or the health education active control intervention. In the health education group, patients with HF were asked to read information about cardiovascular health in a magazine called Heart Insight published by the American Heart Association. Both groups were visited weekly by advanced practice nurses to assess symptoms and monitor patients’ ability to perform the interventions. Compared with patients in the health education group, patients who completed Brain Fitness had significantly improved delayed recall memory over 12 weeks. Patients in both groups had significantly improved list learning, working memory, and instrumental activities of daily living.
Although the study was a preliminary investigation with a small sample, the results are promising and suggest that cognitive dysfunction that occurs in HF may be improved by interventions. A larger study is urgently needed to test the Brain Fitness intervention.
“We are working to obtain funding to conduct a larger randomized controlled trial,” commented Dr. Pressler on the need for a follow-up study. Currently, no evidence-based recommendations are available for patients with heart failure to prevent memory loss.
