Free brain dementia App

How five minutes a day could drive forward dementia research

How five minutes a day could drive forward dementia research
 
Do you own a smartphone? If so, you could play an important role in dementia research whilst having fun.
 
It may sound too good to be true, but a new initiative backed by Alzheimer’s Society means you could help us understand more about the brain simply by downloading and using a free app.
 
We are asking people who do NOT have dementia to get involved in the GameChanger research project.
 
It couldn’t be easier. You can find the GameChanger sign-up page here. Once you have registered, download the app to your smartphone and begin playing fun, free games.
 
You need to play the games for around five minutes a day over 30 days. However, I should warn you that GameChanger is seriously addictive. You’ll love interacting with it, and won’t think of it as a chore at all.
But by playing the games you will be helping us to understand more about how the brain works.
And that, in turn, will support research that could prevent, slow down, or even stop the progression of dementia in the future. 
Our aim is to help researchers identify very early changes in the brains of people with dementia, and to use this information to develop new treatments.   

We have worked in collaboration with scientists at the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute on GameChanger.
And North East actor Kevin Whately, whose mum Mary died with dementia aged just 64, is supporting the initiative.

He said: “GameChanger is going to be a very important innovation because the more people play, the quicker we can detect what causes this awful disease. It is fun, easy, and will really drive forward dementia research.”
I would urge you to consider signing up – five minutes a day is all it takes to make a difference.

• Ken Oxley is Media Officer for Alzheimer’s Society in the North East and Cumbria.

Written by: Ken Oxley  
Alzheimer's Society
North East & Cumbria