Project CARE: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Behavioral Intervention Group for Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers

Abstract Background: Individual cognitive stimulation therapy (ICST) can benefit cognition and quality of life for people with dementia, but the evidence for nurses-led individual cognitive stimulation interventions is limited.Objectives: The current study aimed to develop the process of planning and implementing ICST, and evaluate the effect of ICST on cognitive function and therapeutic effect in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: It was a randomized controlled trial lasting for a half year. 38 patients with mild AD were recruited. The control group was given the “Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy Manual for AD” to deliver the sessions at home. The intervention group was given 90 minutes ‘cognitive stimulation sessions, completed up to three times weekly over 24 weeks. The outcomes were measured at baseline and 24weeks by the scales widely used in AD evaluation (MMSE, MoCA and ADL).Results: There were statistical signiﬁcance between the two groups, especially the scores of memory, delayed memory in MMSE and scores of memory, delayed memory, immediate memory, attention in MoCA were significantly improved in the intervention group compared with control group. ICST show positive effects that may help preserve memory in mild AD.Conclusions: The ICST can improve the memory and attention cognitive domains in patients with mild AD. And the feedback from patient and caregiver in ICST was favorable.

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Physical Exercise with Multicomponent Cognitive Intervention for Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease: A 6-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra ◽

10.1159/000446508 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 222-232 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Min-Ji Kim ◽

Chang-Wan Han ◽

Kyoung-Youn Min ◽

Chae-Yoon Cho ◽

Chae-Won Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Physical Exercise ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Cognitive Intervention ◽

Total Load ◽

Randomized Controlled

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of 6-month physical exercise with a multicomponent cognitive program (MCP) on the cognitive function of older adults with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: We included 33 participants with AD in a 6-month randomized controlled trial. The intervention group participated in physical exercise and received a MCP. The control group received only the MCP. Before and after the intervention, cognitive outcomes were assessed using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog), Mini-Mental State Examination, and the Clock Drawing Test. Physical performance was evaluated by exercise time, the number of pedal rotation, total load, grip strength, and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Results: In all cognitive measures, there were no significant improvements between the two groups after 6 months in the baseline value-adjusted primary analysis. However, the ADAS-cog score was significantly lower between the two groups in secondary analysis adjusted for baseline value, age, sex, and education years. All physical outcomes were significantly higher in the intervention group except for total load compared with baseline measurements. Conclusion: This study indicates that it is possible to improve cognitive function in older adults with moderate to severe AD through 6-month physical exercise with a multicomponent cognitive intervention.

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Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Stimulation on People with Mild to Moderate Dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105290 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5290

Author(s):

Jorge Oliveira ◽

Pedro Gamito ◽

Teresa Souto ◽

Rita Conde ◽

Maria Ferreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Cognitive Stimulation ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Moderate Dementia ◽

Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The use of ecologically oriented approaches with virtual reality (VR) depicting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a promising approach for interventions on acquired brain injuries. However, the results of such an approach on dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are still lacking. This research reports on a pilot randomized controlled trial that aimed to explore the effect of a cognitive stimulation reproducing several IADL in VR on people with mild-to-moderate dementia caused by AD. Patients were recruited from residential care homes of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA), which is a relevant nonprofit social and healthcare provider in Portugal. This intervention lasted two months, with a total of 10 sessions (two sessions/week). A neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the baseline and follow-up using established neuropsychological instruments for assessing memory, attention, and executive functions. The sample consisted of 17 patients of both genders randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The preliminary results suggested an improvement in overall cognitive function in the experimental group, with an effect size corresponding to a large effect in global cognition, which suggests that this approach is effective for neurocognitive stimulation in older adults with dementia, contributing to maintaining cognitive function in AD.

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Cognitive Effects of Aerobic Exercise in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-201100 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Fang Yu ◽

David M. Vock ◽

Lin Zhang ◽

Dereck Salisbury ◽

Nathaniel W. Nelson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Moderate Intensity ◽

Cognitive Effects ◽

Data Set ◽

Randomized Controlled

Background: Aerobic exercise has shown inconsistent cognitive effects in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. Objective: To examine the immediate and longitudinal effects of 6-month cycling on cognition in older adults with AD dementia. Methods: This randomized controlled trial randomized 96 participants (64 to cycling and 32 to stretching for six months) and followed them for another six months. The intervention was supervised, moderate-intensity cycling for 20–50 minutes, 3 times a week for six months. The control was light-intensity stretching. Cognition was assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months using the AD Assessment Scale-Cognition (ADAS-Cog). Discrete cognitive domains were measured using the AD Uniform Data Set battery. Results: The participants were 77.4±6.8 years old with 15.6±2.9 years of education, and 55%were male. The 6-month change in ADAS-Cog was 1.0±4.6 (cycling) and 0.1±4.1 (stretching), which were both significantly less than the natural 3.2±6.3-point increase observed naturally with disease progression. The 12-month change was 2.4±5.2 (cycling) and 2.2±5.7 (control). ADAS-Cog did not differ between groups at 6 (p = 0.386) and 12 months (p = 0.856). There were no differences in the 12-month rate of change in ADAS-Cog (0.192 versus 0.197, p = 0.967), memory (–0.012 versus –0.019, p = 0.373), executive function (–0.020 versus –0.012, p = 0.383), attention (–0.035 versus –0.033, p = 0.908), or language (–0.028 versus –0.026, p = 0.756). Conclusion: Exercise may reduce decline in global cognition in older adults with mild-to-moderate AD dementia. Aerobic exercise did not show superior cognitive effects to stretching in our pilot trial, possibly due to the lack of power.

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