In early May, ASA member UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, a DC-based nonprofit founded in 2010 to “disrupt and diversify the movement to cure Alzheimer’s,” launched a new tool called BrainGuide, geared toward any adult worried about memory issues, caregivers concerned with the cognitive abilities of older adults for whom they care or anyone curious about brain health and how to preserve it.
Recent research shows that up to 40 percent of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 key risk factors throughout life. The BrainGuide can help people to discover those risk factors and find out how to prevent them from contributing to dementia. Also, for now the only available interventions for Alzheimer’s are effective early on in the disease progression, so early detection is key.
BrainGuide is a platform with resources that allow people to take the best next steps to manage their own or another’s brain health. One can quickly, via an online or phone memory questionnaire (in English and Spanish), figure out whether there is an existing issue with memory problems. The test requires remembering a list of words, filling in missing letters in words and performing basic math problems.
Although the questionnaire is not meant to diagnose cognitive impairment or make treatment recommendations, it is a rapid assessment of whether one may need help. Resources provided are tailored toward how one answers the questionnaire.
The platform is a great way to involve healthcare providers, too, by giving patients the confidence to request further testing. And BrainGuide’s resources may pique interest in joining a medical trial on the disease as well.
There are countless ways in which many people measure and track their body’s health and their diet on a regular, often daily basis. Now with BrainGuide, for the first time they can also track brain health, too.
What is the aging network’s role in promoting brain health and increasing awareness of dementia prevention? On June 10 at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET join ASA in a Members Only Event where UsAgainstAlzheimer’s will showcase this new BrainGuide, and ask members for ideas about the role that the aging network might play. Hosted in ASA Communities, this interactive program will allow ASA members to learn all about this new platform and how to use it, provide feedback on the platform, and discuss ways BrainGuide and other dementia prevention resources could be disseminated through aging network channels. Members, look for details about the event and how to attend in ASA Communities.
