Nintendo in Alzheimer's battle

From The Australian (IT Section)-
http://tinyurl.co.uk/e4xa

Simon Hayes
JUNE 01, 2006

COMPUTER games in the hands of the elderly are shaping up as the latest weapons in the war against Alzheimer's.

Nintendo's Dr Kawashima's Brain Training game will hit the shelves in Australia on June 15 and has already created a stir among experts, who say cognitive stimulation could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

In Japan, retirees have flocked to shops to buy the game. It is the sort of publicity Nintendo - better known as the creator of Pokemon and Super Mario Bros - craves, given its attempts to reach an adult audience.

Brain Training includes word games, arithmetic tests and sudoku puzzles. A similar Sony game is also proving popular in Japan, but the company has not decided whether to sell it here.

Neurosurgeons - who have long recommended patients knit, do crosswords, play chess or even learn a foreign language - are enthusiastic about the game.

"I had a patient on Saturday and I said 'Look out for this game'," said Michael Woodward, director of aged and residential care for Melbourne private hospital group Austin Health. "I'd be happy to lend my copy out."

Professor Woodward, a leading authority on Alzheimer's, said three major studies over the past five years had shown an association between social, intellectual and physical health and a reduced risk of the disease.

"The program does indeed seem to link in with the areas of brain that can be affected by cognitive decline," he said.

"There is a sound scientific basis for this ... There is increasing evidence that keeping your mind active does seem to be a prevention for progressing towards Alzheimer's."

Professor Woodward said even those not showing signs of dementia should perform some "mental aerobics" every day.

Nintendo will give $1 from each copy of Brain Training sold to Alzheimer's Australia.