The University of South Florida and healthy older adult volunteers from the Sarasota area will play an increasingly crucial role in the landmark Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study. This study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, examines whether computerized brain training exercises can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. Additional funding awarded earlier this year will provide PACT study participants with an option to provide blood samples that will be used to develop tests for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the largest study of its kind to date, investigating not only how to possibly prevent dementia but also how to detect it earlier.

USF’s PACT study expansion to Sarasota will increase our expected study enrollment from 2,354 to 3,567 over the next two years. To qualify, participants must be 65 or older with no signs of cognitive impairment or dementia. There is an emphasis on the need for African-American/Black and Hispanic study volunteers. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, these populations are at the highest risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

“We are excited for the opportunity to launch PACT in Sarasota. We are seeking another 1,213 healthy older adults to volunteer for this important study. We are grateful for the 2,354 volunteers in the Tampa Bay region and beyond who have already joined our fight against Alzheimer’s disease by enrolling in PACT. The scientific contributions made possible by our PACT volunteers have the potential to positively impact our lives and the lives of future generations,” said Brianne Stanback, PhD, research assistant professor in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of Community Engagement for PACT.

Those interested in the study may participate at USF Sarasota-Manatee, Tampa, or St. Petersburg campuses or at Reliance Medical in Lakeland or Winter Haven. Participants may also join the study at University of Florida in Gainesville or Jacksonville, University of North Florida, Clemson University in Seneca or Greenville, SC, or Duke University in Durham, NC.

PACT participants will be asked to initially come to two in-person study visits. They will then complete 45 computerized training exercises in their own home or they may choose to complete activities at a study site. Participants will be asked to return about three years later for a third study visit.

More information is available at the PACT study website, pactstudy.org, or by calling (941) 500-4447.

The PACT study is supported by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number R01AG070349. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Tampa FL (June 8, 2022) – The University of South Florida received $3.2 million from the National Institute on Aging to investigate if Alzheimer’s disease can be detected early through simple blood tests.

The new funding dovetails with a $44.4 million, five-year NIH grant awarded to USF last year testing whether computerized braining training can reduce dementia risk in older adults. Called the Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study, it is the largest primary prevention trial to date designed to rigorously test the effectiveness of computer-based training to protect against MCI and dementias.

Participants enrolling in the PACT study can also enroll in the study investigating whether a simple blood test can detect dementia. The PACT study will work with the National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias to analyze blood samples collected from study participants.

“We need another 2000 healthy older adults to volunteer for the PACT study. We are very grateful to the 1800 volunteers from Tampa Bay who have already joined our fight against Alzheimer’s disease by enrolling in PACT.” said principal investigator Jerri Edwards, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “Participants will now not only be contributing to our work on how to possibly prevent dementia, but also advancing efforts to develop blood tests for early detection of the disease.”

Jerri Edwards, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, is USF site principal investigator for the PACT study.

Currently, diagnosing dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease requires expensive PET scans or invasive cerebrospinal fluid samples. This new study will contribute to research working toward developing simple blood tests to improve existing methods.

Launched last year, the PACT study continues to recruit participants, seeking healthy older adults to volunteer for the landmark study examining whether computerized brain training exercises can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. PACT study volunteers should be age 65 or older with no signs of cognitive impairment or dementia. Those accepted into the study will participate in initial testing at a PACT location at the USF Tampa or St. Petersburg campuses or at Reliance Medical in Lakeland. The PACT study is also being conducted by partner sites at Clemson University, University of Florida, University of North Florida, and Duke University.

The USF PACT study concentrates on the effectiveness of computerized programs, or brain games, for preventing dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease. These computerized training exercises are designed to potentially enhance mental quickness and visual attention. At the end of the trial, the scientists will examine the blood samples from willing participants and determine which specific blood-based biomarkers predict Alzheimer’s disease, the severity of the disease, and/or responsiveness to treatment.

The PACT study is supported by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number R01AG070349. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

More information is available at the PACT study website, pactstudy.org, or by calling 813-974-6703.

First-of-its-kind primary prevention trial needs more older adults to help researchers determine if a specific type of computer training can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkXdzI9jGI0

The University of South Florida’s Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study continues to seek participants for this first-of-its-kind primary prevention trial.  Funded by a $2.7 million National Institutes of Health grant, the study is examining whether a specific type of computerized brain training can reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment, and dementias like Alzheimer’s disease, in older adults.

The Tampa Bay area has three PACT study training sites, one each in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties. For more information on site locations and phone numbers, please visit: pactstudy.org/tampa-bay/

Prevention research takes on increased urgency in the wake of recent failures of investigational Alzheimer’s drugs from major pharmaceutical companies to halt brain degeneration.

Research assistant Dorothy St. Pierre, center, chats with a PACT study participant Twyla Sampson in the USF Cognitive Aging Lab.

“Much of what we know about Alzheimer’s disease indicates that early intervention is absolutely critical,” said USF’s Aryn Harrison Bush, PhD, PACT study co-investigator who oversees the Polk County site. “Compelling preliminary evidence has shown that the specific form of adaptive, computer-based cognitive training we are studying decreased the risk of dementia by 29% to 48% compared to older adults who received no training.”

The researchers hope to enroll a total of 1,600 healthy adults age 65 or older, in Tampa Bay and Michigan.  Study participants cannot have dementia or other neurological disorders, but a family history of Alzheimer’s does not disqualify a person. They must commit to three initial visits at the training site, and then complete the remaining brain training sessions independently at home.

Lakeland PACT study participant John Peronto, 71, is the primary caregiver for his wife of 41 years Sue Peronto, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2013.  The once vibrant woman, now bedridden, struggles to communicate. But Sue still recognizes and calls her husband by name, and John affectionately refers to his wife as “my Susie Q.”

“I became interested in this study because I’ve seen what this awful disease has done to my wife,” Peronto said. “I’m hoping it expands the knowledge about whether this type of cognitive training can help prevent or slow Alzheimer’s.  Right now only a few drugs are on the market, and all they do is provide some short-term relief of symptoms.”

The researchers hope to recruit a total of 1,600 volunteers — a diverse population of healthy adults age 65 or older — to test whether a specific type of computer brain exercises can reduce the risk of decline in cognitive abilities like thinking, remembering and reasoning.

The USF researchers want to broaden the scientific studies to a more diverse population than ever before to evaluate “whether it’s feasible and effective to ‘prescribe’ such brain training exercises at home,” said Jennifer Lister, PhD, PACT study co-investigator. “We’re enthusiastic about bringing the opportunity to participate in Alzheimer’s prevention research to our community.”

Principal investigator Jerri Edwards, PhD, emphasized the need for African-American and Latino volunteers as the Alzheimer’s Association reports they are populations at highest risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

-Video and photos by Allison Long, USF Health Communications and Marketing

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkXdzI9jGI0

The University of South Florida’s Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study has added new training sites in Polk and Pasco counties.  This first-of-its-kind primary prevention trial, funded by a $2.7 million National Institutes of Health grant, is examining whether a specific type of computerized brain training can reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment, and dementias like Alzheimer’s disease, in older adults.

USF researchers and community leaders will gather for ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the official openings of the two newest brain training facilities:

• Polk County PACT study site: Thursday, May 9, 11 a.m., at 2225 E. Edgewood Drive, Suite #14, Lakeland, Fla. 33903. Lakeland Mayor Bill Munz will be among the speakers.
• Pasco County PACT study site: Wednesday, May 15, 5:30 p.m., at 14350 7^th Street, Dade City, Fla. 33525. Dade City Mayor Camille Hernandez will be one of the speakers.

The clinical trial expansion means that the Tampa Bay area now has four PACT training sites:  USF Tampa and USF St. Petersburg, as well as in Lakeland and Dade City.  Co-lead investigators of the collaborative PACT study are Jerri Edwards, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and David Morgan, PhD, of the University of Michigan.

Prevention research takes on increased urgency in the wake of recent failures of investigational Alzheimer’s drugs from major pharmaceutical companies to halt brain degeneration.

Research assistant Dorothy St. Pierre, center, chats with a PACT study participant Twyla Sampson in the USF Cognitive Aging Lab.

“Much of what we know about Alzheimer’s disease indicates that early intervention is absolutely critical,” said USF’s Aryn Harrison Bush, PhD, PACT study co-investigator who oversees the Polk County site. “Compelling preliminary evidence has shown that the specific form of adaptive, computer-based cognitive training we are studying decreased the risk of dementia by 29% to 48% compared to older adults who received no training.”

The researchers hope to enroll a total of 1,600 healthy adults age 65 or older, in Tampa Bay and Michigan.  Study participants cannot have dementia or other neurological disorders, but a family history of Alzheimer’s does not disqualify a person. They must commit to three initial visits at the training site, and then complete the remaining brain training sessions independently at home.

Lakeland PACT study participant John Peronto, 71, is the primary caregiver for his wife of 41years Sue Peronto, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2013.  The once vibrant woman, now bedridden, struggles to communicate. But Sue still recognizes and calls her husband by name, and John affectionately refers to his wife as “my Susie Q.”

“I became interested in this study because I’ve seen what this awful disease has done to my wife,” Peronto said. “I’m hoping it expands the knowledge about whether this type of cognitive training can help prevent or slow Alzheimer’s.  Right now only a few drugs are on the market, and all they do is provide some short-term relief of symptoms.”

The USF researchers want to broaden the scientific studies to a more diverse population than ever before to evaluate “whether it’s feasible and effective to ‘prescribe’ such brain training exercises at home,” said Jennifer Lister, PhD, PACT study co-investigator who oversees the Pasco County site. “We’re enthusiastic about bringing the opportunity to participate in Alzheimer’s prevention research to our community.”

The researchers hope to recruit a total of 1,600 volunteers — a diverse population  of healthy adults age 65 or older — to test whether a specific type of computer brain exercises can reduce the risk of decline in cognitive abilities like thinking, remembering and reasoning.

An estimated 5.8 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease.  The Alzheimer’s Association projects that number will rise to nearly 14 million by 2050.

For more information about the prevention trial, visit www.pactstudy.org, or call the USF Cognitive Aging Lab at (813) 974-6703.

-Video and photos by Allison Long, USF Health Communications and Marketing

USF Health’s Jerri Edwards, PhD, recently ranked #8 among National Institute of Health-funded principal investigators in Psychiatry by the 2018 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research Rankings, with funding of $4,602,776.

Dr. Edwards, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was ranked among 1,170 principal investigators in Departments of Psychiatry nationwide.  She is nationally recognized for her research examining the effectiveness of computerized cognitive training in preventing or delaying Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as well as normal age-related cognitive decline. She also studies how music training may improve cognitive abilities — such as thinking, remembering and reasoning — in older adults who are non-musicians.

Jerri Edwards, PhD

Dr. Edwards is the co-principal investigator for a new $2.7 million randomized controlled clinical trial known as Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training, or the PACT study, which is funded by the NIH’s National Institute on Aging.  USF is conducting this first-of-its kind, large primary prevention trial with Michigan State University (David Morgan, PhD, co-principal investigator).  The researchers are examining whether a specific regimen of computer brain exercises can significantly reduce the risk of cognitive decline, or dementias like Alzheimer’s disease, in a healthy, diverse population of adults age 65 or older.

The PACT study builds upon previously published research by Dr. Edwards and others indicating that computerized brain training targeting specific cognitive functions and challenging older adults to adapt their performance over time can help maintain mental and physical function. In the case of the 2017 Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, such training even reduced the risk of dementia. Conclusive evidence about whether and how brain training can protect against Alzheimer’s-related cognitive impairment is still needed.

Prevention research takes on increased urgency in the wake of recent failures of investigational Alzheimer’s drugs from major pharmaceutical companies to halt brain degeneration.

For more information on the PACT study go to www.pactstudy.org or call the USF Cognitive Aging Lab at (813) 974-6703.