NeuronUP Forecasts Cognitive Decline Risk One Year Earlier

The prestigious British journal Journal of Neuropsychology, published by the British Psychological Society, has published a study showing that NeuronUP can predict the risk of cognitive decline one year in advance.

As shown by the study “One-year prediction of cognitive decline following cognitive-stimulation from real-world data,” published in the British Journal of Neuropsychology, NeuronUP can predict the risk of cognitive decline one year in advance.

This system is based on multiple tests that users complete and that involve different areas of the brain (cognitive training materials). Based on the results, it flags whether or not a problem may develop in the future. Predicting decline allows healthcare professionals to intervene to delay or mitigate the progression of conditions such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.

Delaying or mitigating the progression of conditions such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s

Regarding its applications, Jesús M. Cortes, Ikerbasque professor at the Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute and head of NeuronUP’s R&D&I unit, highlighted that “anticipating these kinds of situations allows us to take early action to slow the progression of possible conditions, design prevention programs and personalized treatment, monitor progress over time to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, identify modifiable risk factors, develop interventions to reduce risk, and help professionals make informed decisions.”

What the study involved

This study, which examined the usefulness of the NeuronUP platform’s neuropsychological training materials, involved longitudinal modeling of the results of 124,610 tests monitoring 29 cognitive domains. A total of 7,902 people took part in the research.

The risk of cognitive decline was assessed based on participants’ performance (using an indicator called NeuronUP Score) on the platform’s different tests. As Cortes explained, this system “is a score from 0 to 100 that measures users’ progress. It is unique to each participant and is calculated using a formula that combines correct answers, the time taken to complete the challenge, and its difficulty level.”

NeuronUP Score

Of the 203 cognitive training materials studied, some were found to work better than others. For example, Cortes noted that “materials for training processing speed, attention, and executive function had strong predictive power, and, for specific conditions, some, such as selective attention, predict cognitive decline very well in Parkinson’s but not in Alzheimer’s.”

This research was carried out using a “Real World Data” (RWD) approach

Finally, it’s worth noting that this research was carried out using a “Real World Data” (RWD) approach, which combines data from health records, online platforms, insurance, and other sources.

“This methodology offers a more accurate, generalizable picture of how a treatment or intervention performs in the real population, allowing better characterization of populations and a greater understanding of the interactions between treatments and comorbidities,” Cortes said.

The media cover NeuronUP’s study

Respected media outlets such as Neurologia.com, Psiquiatria.com, Farmaco Salud, Europa Press, and Salud a Diario have covered the publication of this study in the prestigious British journal.

• News story on Neurologia.com.
• Article on Psiquiatria.com.
• News story on Salud Diario.
• Farmacosalud publishes a story about the study.
• Article on Geriatricarea.
• El Debate covers the study.
• Docs News also highlights the importance of the cognitive decline study.

If you enjoyed this blog post on how NeuronUP can predict the risk of cognitive decline one year in advance, you may also be interested in these NeuronUP articles:

“This article has been translated. Link to the original article in Spanish:”
NeuronUP anticipa un año el riesgo de padecer deterioro cognitivo