Case Studies

Synopsis
There are currently around 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia, and the condition is increasing rapidly. Like many morbidities, diet and lifestyle could play a significant role in reducing the risk of dementia onset. The MedEx-UK Study is a collaboration between the Universities of East Anglia, Birmingham and Newcastle that is investigating the potential of a combination of exercise and the Mediterranean diet (rich in fruit, vegetables, wholegrain, olive oil, and oily fish) to improve brain function and to prevent or delay dementia onset in older adults. The study innovatively combines a multisite feasibility study for a future full trial, to determine how to optimally deliver a large-scale study, with a prospective cohort study capitalising on access to data from the EPIC Study. The Newcastle component of MedEx-UK is led by Professor John Mathers, Director of the Centre for Healthier Lives, and the team includes Dr Stella Paddick and Dr Oliver Shannon. MedEx-UK is supported with a £760k grant from Alzheimer’s Research UK links and benefits from Newcastle University’s long-standing research interest in brain health.

• The study exemplifies the NUCoRE approach of design and testing of complex interventions (here combining diet and exercise) prospectively to improve health at all stages of the lifecourse

Contact email:
medexuk@newcastle.ac.uk

Further project info:
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2019/06/medex-uk/
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/healthier-lives/research/intervention-development/projects/