Multimodal Preventive Trial for Alzheimer's Disease: MIND-ADmini Pilot Trial Study Design and Progress.

BACKGROUND: Interventions simultaneously targeting multiple risk factors and mechanisms are most likely to be effective in preventing cognitive impairment. This was indicated in the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) testing a multidomain lifestyle intervention among at-risk individuals. The importance of medical food at the early symptomatic disease stage, prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD), was emphasized in the LipiDiDiet trial. The feasibility and effects of multimodal interventions in prodromal AD are unclear. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of an adapted FINGER-based multimodal lifestyle intervention, with or without medical food, among individuals with prodromal AD. METHODS: MIND-ADmini is a multinational proof-of-concept 6-month randomized controlled trial (RCT), with four trial sites (Sweden, Finland, Germany, France). The trial targeted individuals with prodromal AD defined using the International Working Group-1 criteria, and with vascular or lifestyle-related risk factors. The parallel-group RCT includes three arms: 1) multimodal lifestyle intervention (nutritional guidance, exercise, cognitive training, vascular/metabolic risk management and social stimulation); 2) multimodal lifestyle intervention+medical food (Fortasyn Connect); and 3) regular health advice/care (control group). Primary outcomes are feasibility and adherence. Secondary outcomes are adherence to the individual intervention domains and healthy lifestyle changes. RESULTS: Screening began on 28 September 2017 and was completed on 21 May 2019. Altogether 93 participants were randomized and enrolled. The intervention proceeded as planned. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, this pilot trial tests the feasibility and adherence to a multimodal lifestyle intervention, alone or combined with medical food, among individuals with prodromal AD. It can serve as a model for combination therapy trials (non-pharma, nutrition-based and/or pharmacological interventions).

Association of Long-Term Dietary Fat Intake, Exercise, and Weight with Later Cognitive Function in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate associations of long-term nutrient intake, physical activity and obesity with later cognitive function among the participants in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study, in which a lifestyle intervention was successful in diabetes prevention. DESIGN: An active lifestyle intervention phase during middle age (mean duration 4 years) and extended follow-up (additional 9 years) with annual lifestyle measurements, followed by an ancillary cognition assessment. SETTING: 5 research centers in Finland. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 522 middle-aged, overweight participants with impaired glucose tolerance recruited to the study, 364 (70%) participated in the cognition assessment (mean age 68 years). MEASUREMENTS: A cognitive assessment was executed with the CERAD test battery and the Trail Making Test A on average 13 years after baseline. Lifestyle measurements included annual clinical measurements, food records, and exercise questionnaires during both the intervention and follow-up phase. RESULTS: Lower intake of total fat (p=0.021) and saturated fatty acids (p=0.010), and frequent physical activity (p=0.040) during the whole study period were associated with better cognitive performance. Higher BMI (p=0.012) and waist circumference (p=0.012) were also associated with worse performance, but weight reduction prior to the cognition assessment predicted worse performance as well (decrease vs. increase, p=0.008 for BMI and p=0.002 for waist). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term dietary fat intake, BMI, and waist circumference have an inverse association with cognitive function in later life among people with IGT. However, decreases in BMI and waist prior to cognitive assessment are associated with worse cognitive performance, which could be explained by reverse causality.

Accuracy in the estimation of food servings against the portions in food photographs.

OBJECTIVE: In diet surveys, quantitative underestimation of food consumption may be due to intentional misreporting or false portion-size reporting. Perception of food photographs used as aids for assessing the actual amounts may have an effect. This study was carried out to assess the validity of food photographs. DESIGN: A real-time test protocol where 52 presented food servings were compared against photographed portions with similar food items. SUBJECTS: Volunteers from the Rehabilitation Company Petrea (in Turku) were recruited, 161 adults participated, and for 146 subjects, complete data were collected. METHODS: The proportions of correct estimations and reporting errors, in weights and percentages, are presented by gender and food group. Food descriptors, portion-size options and subject characteristics were studied as potential determinants of accuracy in portion-size estimation. RESULTS: The total proportion of exactly correct estimations was 51% in men and 49% in women. The overall reporting error was -10 g in men and +1 g in women for the 52 food servings. Underreporting was typical for bread, spread and cold cuts and dishes in both genders. Over-reporting was typical for cereals in both genders and for snacks, vegetables and fruit in women. The estimation error was associated with the portion-size options but not associated with the energy density of food items, education or body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: Food portions in photographs seem to be a useful aid for the quantification of most food items. However, validation studies are needed to test the applicability of photographs for estimating current portions and for searching better tools in dietary surveys.