Prevention of Cognitive Decline: A Goal in Sight?

This raises the question whether the previous phase III trials, which were generally neutral, were simply performed too soon with insufficient development of combinations of effective interventions, and the current studies prepare the ground for large scale phase III trials with a higher chance of success. But while the SMARRT trial targets persons between 70 and 89, the AIBL and MYB studies target much younger populations of over 60 and 55-77, respectively [[5]]. Although the SMARRT pilot trial will use change in cognitive functioning for the sample size calculation for the full-scale trial, it will potentially be able to power for all-cause dementia due to the target age range of 70-89, depending on the expected effect size and planned study duration of the full trial. The AIBL proof of concept for sustainable adherence, the carefully designed pilot study necessary for a proper sample size calculation in SMARRT, and the ambitious MYB study may all inspire future dementia prevention study designs. [Extracted from the article]