Two interesting company press releases, one yesterday one today, showing how cognitive interventions may be helpful no matter our age, from kids to seniors, as long as we understand what those “tools” are supposed to do and don’t expect, or are promised, miracles:

Dakim ® , Inc. Secures $10.6 Million Series C Funding Led by Galen Partners

- “an innovator in brain fitness technology solutions, today announced the completion of a $10.6 million Series C financing. The round was led by Galen Partners, a leading private equity firm specializing in healthcare investing…Mr. Jahns said, “Dakim has developed an innovative, affordable and practical solution to assist the rapidly aging population maintain their brain health and fight Alzheimer’s disease.”

Comment: fascinating to see such a large round-which makes sense given demographic trends in this emerging field. But, still, it is a significant bet. Hopefully part of those resources will be devoted to research behind the specific impact of the Dakim cognitive intervention.

Scientific Learning Reports 2007 Results

- “a leading provider of brain fitness solutions for the education market…Revenue for the year totaled $46.1 million, an increase of 12% compared to $41.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2006.” and “We expanded our addressable market through the acquisition of the Reading Assistant which moves us closer to the mainstream market.”

Comment: a very interesting trade-off here. On the one hand, Scientific Learning has great research and clinical evidence for specific groups of kids with specific priorities. Kids with auditory processing as main bottleneck may see clear improvements after their intensive intervention. Other kids may also benefit, but unclear at what point lies the balance between clinical justification and the time & investment required. Companies obviously want to grow and increase “addressable markets”. The question is, how can schools best make the decision about what kids may benefit the most? or benefit “enough”?

For more information, you may enjoy our Market Report:

“This 87-page report is the first to define the brain fitness software market, summarize the science behind brain plasticity and cognitive training, and analyze the size and trends of its four customer segments: consumers, healthcare & insurance providers, K12 school systems, and Fortune 1000 companies, military, and sports teams.”