Don't Wait and See: New NewDays Data Shows What Acting Early on MCI Can Do

New findings suggest that acting early on Mild Cognitive Impairment can help change what comes next.

Dr. Esra Al, NewDays Neuroscientist and AI Scientist, is just back from Boston, where she presented our newest clinical findings at INBC 2026, the 13th International Conference on Neurology and Brain Disorders.

At AAIC this summer, we shared that people living with dementia in our program preserved roughly a year and a half of cognitive function they were expected to lose. That told us something important. It also raised the next question: what happens when people start earlier?

That question is everywhere right now. Early diagnosis and prevention are at the center of the conversation about brain health, from breakthroughs in early-detection tools to the Alzheimer's Association's U.S. POINTER study, which found that a structured lifestyle program improved cognition in older adults at risk of decline. The message is the same one we hear from our clinicians every day: what you do early matters.

So for this poster, we looked closely at our patients living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The results are some of the most encouraging we've shared.

What We Found

Forty patients (16 living with MCI, 20 with dementia and 4 with other cognitive symptoms) took part in NewDays' blended program: biweekly telehealth sessions with a licensed clinician, combined with daily AI-guided cognitive exercises. Patients were followed for about seven months on average, and up to 16 months, with two to five assessments each.

People with MCI pushed back cognitive symptoms by about 2.6 years for each year of treatment. Without treatment, published research shows that people with MCI typically lose ground on cognitive testing year after year. Our MCI patients held steady and trended upward instead. Compared with that expected decline, each year of treatment corresponded to pushing back cognitive symptoms by approximately 2.6 years on the ACE-III, a widely used test of global cognition (p=0.006). On a second, more conservative scale (MMSE-equivalent), the estimate was about 1.6 years (p=0.011).

13 of 16 people with MCI finished above their expected trajectory. The analysis includes the full MCI group, even the two patients whose diagnosis progressed to dementia during the study.

Across all 40 patients, cognition improved instead of declining. Global cognition scores rose at an estimated rate of 3.3 points per year (p=0.015), and 26 of 40 patients improved from their first assessment to their last.

Memory improved, and patients felt more confident in it. Verbal memory scores improved significantly, and patients rated their own memory ability higher.

Anxiety and depression went down. Symptoms of both anxiety and depression improved significantly across the group.

Why This Matters

"So many people hear 'mild cognitive impairment' and are told to wait and see. What we're seeing in our patients says the opposite: this is the moment to act. When we start early, we can change the trajectory, and people feel the difference in their memory and their mood, not just on a test." — Dr. Esra Al, NewDays Neuroscientist and AI Scientist

An MCI diagnosis often comes with very little to do next. These findings suggest that sustained, personalized cognitive rehabilitation at this stage, delivered at home and every day, may help change what comes after.

We're also clear about what this is and isn't. This is a case series of 40 patients, not a randomized trial, and the MCI comparison relies on published research from other patient groups. It's a strong signal, and it's exactly why the next step matters.

What's Next

NewDays is part of a randomized controlled trial with a large California health system (NCT07474038), designed to test these findings under the controlled conditions the science ultimately requires.

In the meantime, the takeaway for families is simple. Find out early. Address early. Don't wait and see.

If you or someone you love has noticed changes in memory or thinking, or has recently been diagnosed with MCI, we'd love to talk. A free consultation takes less than two minutes to book.

NewDays clinical data presented at INBC 2026, the 13th International Conference on Neurology and Brain Disorders, Boston, MA, October 2026.