THE U.S. POINTER STRUCTURED HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PROGRAM — PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO IMPROVE COGNITION — MAY ALSO IMPROVE SLEEP APNEA, BLOOD PRESSURE REGULATION, AND COGNITIVE RESILIENCE USA – English India – English USA – español USA – Deutsch USA – Français

– Two-year way of life intervention “recipe” examined in three NIH-funded ancillary research –

Key Takeaways

• Findings from three NIA-funded ancillary research to the U.S. POINTER trial described useful results as measured by brain imaging, sleep health, and blood pressure regulation.
• The U.S. POINTER recipe, a 2-year multicomponent wholesome way of life intervention with common structured assist, improved blood strain regulation of blood stream to the mind, decreased sleep apnea respiratory occasions, and elevated cognitive resilience for adults with sure Alzheimer’s-related mind adjustments.

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A two-year multicomponent wholesome way of life intervention with common, structured assist — which has already proven that it might enhance cognition in adults in danger for cognitive decline — can also enhance blood strain regulation and cut back hourly sleep apnea respiratory occasions, in accordance with new information reported in the present day at CTAD 2025 in San Diego. The intervention can also shield towards the unfavourable cognitive results of sure Alzheimer’s disease-related mind adjustments.

The healthy lifestyle recipe was created for the Alzheimer’s Association’s U.S. POINTER trial, which printed its preliminary ends in JAMA final July and reported them at AAIC 2025. The evidence-based multicomponent way of life intervention tailored for the U.S. inhabitants consists of standard bodily train, the MIND food regimen, cognitive problem by computerized coaching and different mental and social actions, and common evaluate of well being metrics and goal-setting with a research clinician.

“These studies tell us that the U.S. POINTER lifestyle intervention with structured support has substantial and significant health benefits beyond improving cognition — and the benefits are in areas known to lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia,” stated Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer and medical affairs lead. “This positive relationship may multiply the beneficial impact of closely adhering to the structured U.S. POINTER ‘recipe.'”

“Bottom line, we now have a more comprehensive picture of how the U.S. POINTER intervention affects brain health, and overall health, too,” Dr. Carrillo added.

There have been two variations of the intervention — structured and self-guided — that differed in depth, construction, accountability and assist offered. Trial contributors within the structured intervention confirmed larger enchancment on world cognition in comparison with the self-guided intervention, a profit that seemingly displays slowing of cognitive growing older by one to 2 years.

Poor regulation of blood stream to the mind and sleep issues/irregular sleep patterns are recognized danger components for cognitive decline and dementia, together with Alzheimer’s illness, so these new outcomes describe extra advantages of the U.S. POINTER structured intervention.

The new information stories got here from a collection of U.S. POINTER ancillary research funded by the NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA):

A fourth ancillary research, The POINTER-Microbiome Study, which presented a poster at CTAD 2025, will report more fully at a later date.

NIA Director, Dr. Richard Hodes stated, “I am very encouraged by these early findings from the U.S. POINTER ancillary studies, which offer valuable insights into the physiological mechanisms that may have contributed to the positive results of the U.S. POINTER trial. The forthcoming publications and continued analysis of this rich dataset will deepen our understanding of how multimodal interventions can support brain health.”

“These studies provide an unprecedented opportunity to better understand the impact that healthy lifestyle changes can have on overall health and risk for cognitive decline and dementia,” stated Dr. Kristina McLinden, Program Officer at NIA.

POINTER-zzz
In older adults, sleep problems are extremely prevalent, regularly undetected or untreated, and related to poor mind well being outcomes, together with cognitive decline. This highlights sleep as a modifiable danger issue for Alzheimer’s and different ailments that trigger dementia. Interventions that enhance sleep can also enhance cognitive operate in older adults. Two elements of the U.S. POINTER’s structured intervention are bodily exercise and nutritious diet, each of which have been proven to enhance general sleep well being.

The POINTER-zzz research examined whether or not the life-style adjustments would possibly enhance sleep high quality in a subset of 780 adults who participated within the U.S. POINTER scientific trial. Nearly 65% of the research group had at the very least gentle sleep apnea once they began the research. POINTER-zzz used easy sleep checks that have been accomplished at residence. The checks contain sporting watch-like units in a single day to measure sleep apnea, restlessness and different sleep disruptions.

Respiratory disturbances from sleep apnea declined by 1 to 2 occasions per hour of sleep for research contributors within the structured intervention versus these within the self-guided group.

“We are excited about this finding, as it shows that the structured intervention improves not only cognition but also other behaviors that affect brain health, which may increase protection against dementia,” stated Laura D. Baker, Ph.D., Professor, Internal Medicine and Public Health Sciences; and Associate Director, Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center on the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC. “The positive effect of the structured intervention on sleep deepens the significance of the U.S. POINTER trial results for older Americans.” Dr. Baker is among the Principal Investigators of the father or mother trial and Principal Investigator of the sleep ancillary research.

POINTER-NV
Adequate blood stream to the mind is critical to keep up a relentless provide of oxygen and vitamins. While the relevance of decreased blood stream to the mind in Alzheimer’s illness and associated dementias is nicely documented, few research have investigated how vascular well being is crucial for regulation of blood stream within the mind; this was the first focus of the neurovascular ancillary research.

POINTER-NV enrolled 491 father or mother trial contributors who accomplished complete testing of vascular well being at baseline, month 12, and month 24. Several varieties of procedures, resembling ultrasound and steady blood strain monitoring, have been used to measure the construction and performance of the blood vessels within the physique and within the mind.

Many POINTER-NV contributors have points that pressure the center and blood vessels, like clogged arteries, stiff arteries, or drops in blood strain once they get up. The researchers discovered important advantages from the structured intervention on the cardiovascular system and its skill to reply to sudden adjustments in blood strain, indicating improved blood strain regulation, in comparison with the self-guided group. The structured intervention additionally improved a number of measures of blood-vessel well being within the physique’s largest artery and the primary arteries supplying the mind.

“Our findings indicate that a structured multidomain lifestyle intervention can improve the body’s ability to regulate blood pressure, which is crucial for proper brain blood flow to the brain. Improved blood pressure regulation can also reduce aging-related vascular changes that allow harmful, pulsing flow of blood — too fast and too much— into the brain. These benefits may help to support cognitive function and overall brain health in U.S. POINTER participants,” stated ancillary research Principal Investigators, Drs. Brinkley and Shaltout.

POINTER-Neuroimaging
POINTER-Neuroimaging is the primary large-scale investigation of how way of life interventions have an effect on organic markers of Alzheimer’s and dementia within the mind. Trial contributors from all 5 predominant research websites have been invited to obtain MRI and Aβ and tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to evaluate the results of the U.S. POINTER intervention on mind well being, together with (1) mind imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer’s and cerebrovascular illness and (2) cognitive advantages that have been influenced by these biomarkers.

POINTER-Neuroimaging enrolled roughly 50% of the father or mother trial contributors. The researchers discovered that individuals within the research with sure Alzheimer’s-related mind adjustments — decrease hippocampal quantity or greater tau protein construct up — had larger cognitive advantages from the structured way of life intervention than these with these mind adjustments within the self-guided group. However, the presence, absence or stage of amyloid within the mind didn’t influence the quantity of cognitive profit.

“Participating in the U.S. POINTER study’s structured intervention protected against the negative effects of tau tangle build up or smaller baseline hippocampal volume,” stated Dr. Susan Landau, Principal Investigator of the ancillary research. “In other words, people with certain at-risk brain characteristics saw greater cognitive benefits following the intervention, but amyloid build up — the primary biomarker that defines Alzheimer’s disease — was not one of those at-risk characteristics. This means that people with amyloid build up experience the same benefits from the intervention as those without amyloid.”

The US POINTER ancillary research are supported by the next NIH grants:

About the Alzheimer’s Association^®
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary well being group devoted to Alzheimer’s care, assist and analysis. Our mission is to cleared the path to finish Alzheimer’s and all different dementia — by accelerating world analysis, driving danger discount and early detection, and maximizing high quality care and assist. Our imaginative and prescient is a world with out Alzheimer’s and all different dementia^®. Visit alz.org or name +1 800.272.3900.

SOURCE Alzheimer’s Association