A series of clinical trials is trying to determine whether changing participants’ lifestyles can curtail age-related cognitive decline or prevent dementia

A series of clinical trials is trying to determine whether changing participants’ lifestyles can curtail age-related cognitive decline or prevent dementia. Numerous observational studies suggest factors such as diet and exercise influence whether people develop dementia. But researchers have performed few randomized, controlled clinical trials that test the effects of altering these factors on mental capabilities, and many of the trials that have been conducted on individual risk factors were negative. Researchers now hope so-called multidomain trials can nail down whether modifying multiple risk factors benefits cognition. The first of these trials, the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, showed a small cognitive benefit from an intensive program to improve lifestyle, and now trials are underway in the United States, Australia, and many other countries.