Non-pharmacological Treatments for Memory Decline

It was recently reported on ABC news (Mon Oct 15, 2012) that drug companies are abandoning research into the development of new drugs for dementia.

The key reasons cited for this trend were the enormous costs involved in drug development and little success with disease modifying drugs, particularly for Alzheimer's Disease, the most common form of dementia.

With dementia widely recognised as a ballooning problem for not only in Australia but across the world over, this then raises the question of what other treatment options are out there?

In fact there are several other potentially promising lines of research investigating non-pharmacological treatments for memory decline. These non-drug based treatments share one thing in common, capitalising on the neuroplastic and regenerative properties of the brain.

One such treatment which has gained increasing attention is cognitive remediation, a psychological intervention which has been particularly investigated in people with schizophrenia. This form of intervention typically involves the use of brain training exercises and teaching of memory strategies, with research overall showing robust benefits for memory and cognition, as well as improvements in quality of life. Cognitive remediation has additionally recently been trialled in people at risk for dementia, with early promising results showing improvements in memory.

Another exciting new intervention is through using mild forms of brain stimulation. These brain stimulation techniques involve the application of small electric currents or brief magnetic pulses into the brain for the purpose of transiently modulating brain activity. These non-invasive forms of stimulation have been shown to be effective in treating depression, and there is now some preliminary research showing that they can also be used to enhance memory in older persons and people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

Though the research into these new non-pharmacological treatments to help improve memory is very much preliminary at this stage, with more research these treatments may become more widely available in the future. Most likely these new treatments will be used to supplement existing drug treatments, as additional “booster” treatments to help delay cognitive decline and improve quality of life.

ANTS conducts a Cognitive Remediation Programme based in Sydney's inner west. For more information please contact us.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales are also currently conducting a research trial investigating the use of mild brain stimulation for people at risk for dementia. More information about this trial is available at http://www.cheba.unsw.edu.au/project/brain-stimulation-and-cognitive-training.