Brain training and walking before surgery may boost recovery in seniors
NCT ID NCT04889417
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether a program of computer brain games and supervised physical exercise, done before and after surgery, can help older adults (60+) keep their thinking skills and physical abilities. 250 people having major non-cardiac surgery will be randomly assigned to either the active program or a control group doing simple games and stretches. The goal is to see if this approach improves recovery and to understand who benefits most.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 250 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2021
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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60 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. ≥60 years old 2. undergoing elective major non-cardiac surgery with expected hospitalization ≥3 days Exclusion Criteria: 1. Blind, deaf, or inability to understand English as these conditions would preclude the ability to perform the proposed comprehensive program and prevent assessment with the study instruments 2. Prisoners 3. Severe frailty or physical impairment that prohibits participation in the program 4. Cognitively unable to consent for surgery (i.e., dementia or cognitive impairment of a severity that precludes ability to self-consent and, thus, also participation in study interventions) 5. Inability to obtain informed consent ≥2 weeks before scheduled surgery 6. Surgical team unwilling to allow physical activity or other components of the intervention 7. Inability or unwillingness to utilize a tablet device, laptop, or email 8. Co-enrolled in another interventional trial examining similar outcomes or current enrollment in a study that does not allow co-enrollment
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37212, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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