Research Study on Chemo Brain help/Lumosity

[Paula O]

I've been thinking about starting the http://www.lumosity.com/ program to sharpen my brain after chemo. You don't need to be in this study below to do it and it's free and might help chemo brain. Anybody here using it?
Paula


"We need women in San Francisco Bay Area, who had chemotherapy as part of their breast cancer treatment to take part in a study measuring the effectiveness of a cognitive enhancement program.

Breast cancer and its treatments can affect many aspects of women's health and well-being, including their brain (cognitive) function. Studies have shown that people treated for breast cancer are at an increased risk of developing problems with memory, concentration, multitasking and other similar skills. This research team previously found that cognitive training using Lumosity, a computerized program that leads you through a series of brain exercise games, improved brain functioning in breast cancer survivors. Their new study is looking at the effect of adding stress management and compensatory strategies to Lumosity training. The study will also compare the Lumosity program to a non-computerized cognitive training method known as active journaling.

Please read on to learn about what's involved and who can participate. If this study isn't right for you, please pass it on to someone you know!

What's the study about?

The purpose of this study is to test whether brain-training exercises can improve brain functioning in breast cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy and are having problems with memory, concentration, multitasking and other similar skills. The research team needs 130 women for this study.
What's involved?

If you sign up and appear to be eligible for the Cognitive Enhancement Program Study you will first be contacted by the research team. On your first visit, you will be asked to read and sign a consent form. Next, your heart rate will be measured using a heart rate monitor placed on your finger. Then, you will be randomly assigned (like a flip of the coin) to participate in one of three study groups:

• In the Cognitive Enhancement Program plus Active Journaling group, you will be asked to do complete sessions of active journaling, relaxation techniques, and perform strategies from the Cognitive Enhancement workbook.

• In the Cognitive Enhancement Program plus Lumosity group, you will be asked to complete Lumosity sessions, relaxation techniques, and perform strategies from the Cognitive Enhancement workbook.

• In the Lumosity Only group, you will be asked to complete sessions of Lumosity.

You will be asked to go to Stanford University Medical Center, in Palo Alto, Calif. two times. At these visits you will be asked to:

- Complete cognitive tests that measure a variety of brain functions, including memory, attention, problem solving and language.

- Participate in an MRI Scan, a series of short brain scans that will assess the structure and function of the brain.

If it is determined that one of the study programs is more effective than the others you will have the opportunity to take part in that program if you were not originally assigned to it. Please note that the research team cannot provide you with any results from your cognitive tests. However, if the research team notices a potential abnormality you will be contacted and referred for a clinical evaluation.
Who is conducting the study?

Shelli Kesler, PhD, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Where?

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Who can participate?

You can join the Cognitive Enhancement Program Study if you match ALL of these MAIN categories:

• You are a woman over the age of 21.
• You were diagnosed with breast cancer (stage I-IV) and received chemotherapy.
• You have been chemotherapy-free and disease-free for at least 6 months.
• You do not have a learning disability, head trauma, neurologic disorder or significant psychiatric or medical condition.
• You are not pregnant.

The research team will also ask you additional questions to be sure that this study is a right fit for you.

Info/sign up via www.ArmyofWomen.org or contact Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA.

[Debbie L.]

Hi Paula!

I participated in an earlier AOW study by the same people, and after it concluded, had a private evaluation done by Shelli Kesler, the PI. Although I am a northern Californian, it was a 5+ hour drive for me to participate (but I stayed with relatives and considered the visit with them to be part of the bonus of participation).

Part of the study included complimentary access to Lumosity for a year, and I've been a paying member ever since. You get a LOT more game options with a subscription, including the hopelessly-addicting "Train of Thought". I don't know if doing the Lumosity exercises improves my pathetic multi-tasking abilities but I like to think that it might. Plus, most of them are fun (and those that seem more like work than fun are are probably the very ones I should be doing).

The results of the private evaluation were interesting. I'd been sure that there had been some changes to my executive functions (multi-tasking) after chemo and/or Arimidex -- and the eval confirmed that. She said that while I didn't score terribly low in anything, the contrast between my high scores in everything but short term memory (which was still normal, but much lower) confirmed my concerns. It wasn't exactly good news, but at the same time, it's somewhat comforting to know it's not just my imagination.

Debbie Laxague