A technology-aided program for helping persons with Alzheimer’s disease perform daily activities

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio Lancioni ◽  
Nirbhay Singh ◽  
Mark O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
Fiora D’Amico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Social Image ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baseline Design ◽  
Verbal Instructions ◽  
Disease Experience

Purpose Persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease experience increasing activity engagement failures, with consequent cognitive, social, and physical drawbacks. The purpose of this paper is to assess a technology-aided program to help these persons to independently start and carry out daily activities at the appropriate times. Design/methodology/approach The program was implemented with eight participants according to an adapted non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The program provided each participant with: timely reminders about the activities to carry out, verbal instructions about the activity steps, and brief encouragements and praise. Findings All participants showed improvement during the program, that is, they managed to independently start the activities at the scheduled times and perform those activities with satisfactory levels of accuracy (i.e. with mean percentages of correct steps nearing or exceeding 90). Originality/value A technology-aided program, such as that used in this study, may help persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer disease engage in daily activities, with possible benefits for their cognitive functioning, social image, and physical condition.

Tablet-based intervention to foster music-related hand responses and positive engagement in people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Giulio Lancioni ◽  
Nirbhay Singh ◽  
Mark O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
Fiora D’Amico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baseline Design ◽  
Sensor Activation ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Positive Engagement

PurposeMusic stimulation is considered beneficial for people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of this paper is to assess a tablet-based program to promote music-related hand responses and positive engagement (e.g. singing or moving the body with the music) in people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.Design/methodology/approachThe program was implemented with 20 participants according to a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The participants were provided with a tablet whose screen worked as a sensor. During the intervention, sensor activations by hand responses led the tablet to present 10 s segments of preferred songs; an absence of sensor activation led the tablet to produce a prompt.FindingsThe participants’ mean frequencies of hand responses (i.e. sensor activations) per 5 min session increased from mostly zero during baseline to between about 9 and 20 during the intervention. The mean percentages of observation intervals with participants’ positive engagement increased from 0 to 12 during the baseline to between 13 and 55 during the intervention. The differences between baseline and intervention data were statistically significant for all participants.Originality/valueA tablet-based program, such as that used in this study, may help people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease develop specific music-related responses and positive engagement.

Technology-aided verbal instructions to help persons with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease perform daily activities

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1240-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio E. Lancioni ◽  
Nirbhay N. Singh ◽  
Mark F. O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
Emanuela Tatulli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Verbal Instructions

Supporting Simple Activity Engagement in Persons With Moderate to Severe Alzheimer’s Disease Through a Technology-Aided Program

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio E. Lancioni ◽  
Nirbhay N. Singh ◽  
Mark F. O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
Fiora D’Amico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Occupational Activity ◽  
Multiple Baseline Design ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Baseline Design ◽  
Simple Activity ◽  
Positive Engagement

Objectives: These 2 studies assessed a technology-aided program to support mild physical exercise or simple occupational activity in participants with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: Study 1 included 11 participants who were to perform a leg-raising response. Study 2 included 10 participants who were to sort objects into different containers. The program ensured that they received positive stimulation contingent on the responses and reminders/prompts after periods of nonresponding. Each study was carried out according to a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants. Results: The program was successful in supporting mild physical exercise and activity with objects in the 2 groups of participants, respectively. The participants also showed signs of positive involvement (eg, smiles and verbalizations) during the sessions. Moreover, staff personnel rated the program and its impact positively. Conclusion: The program may be considered a practical resource for supporting positive engagement in persons with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Technology-Based Behavioral Interventions for Daily Activities and Supported Ambulation in People With Alzheimer’s Disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 318-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio E. Lancioni ◽  
Nirbhay N. Singh ◽  
Mark F. O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
Fiora D’Amico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Notebook Computer ◽  
Step Responses

Objectives: These 2 studies evaluated technology-based behavioral interventions for promoting daily activities and supported ambulation in people with mild-to-moderate and moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease, respectively. Methods: Study 1 included 8 participants who were taught to start and carry out daily activities on their own using a tablet or smartphone device, which provided activity reminders, step instructions, and praise. Study 2 included 9 participants who were taught to engage in brief periods of ambulation using a walker combined with a tilt microswitch and a notebook computer, which monitored step responses and provided stimulation and prompts. Results: The participants of study 1 succeeded in starting the activities independently and carrying them out accurately. The participants of study 2 largely increased their ambulation levels and also showed signs of positive involvement (eg, smiles and verbalizations). Conclusion: The aforementioned technology-based interventions may represent practical means for supporting people with Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Hallucinations in a Patient with Alzheimer’s Disease During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 455-458
Author(s):  
Mohamad El Haj ◽  
Frank Larøi ◽  
Karim Gallouj
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Social Distancing

While social distancing may be deemed necessary in order to avoid COVID-19 infections, the lockdown may impact mental health of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We present a case study involving hallucinations in a patient with AD who lives in a nursing home during the COVID-19 crisis. We compared this patient’s hallucination scores before and during the lockdown. We observed increased hallucinations during, compared to before, the lockdown. These increased hallucinations can be attributed to a number of elements such as the decreased in daily activities, social distancing, lack of physical contact with family members, and loneliness during the lockdown.

Supporting daily activities and indoor travel of persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease through standard technology resources

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 2351-2359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio E. Lancioni ◽  
Nirbhay N. Singh ◽  
Mark F. O’Reilly ◽  
Jeff Sigafoos ◽  
Caterina Renna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Standard Technology ◽  
Technology Resources

The AddNeuroMed framework for multi-centre MRI assessment of Alzheimer's disease : experience from the first 24 months

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Simmons ◽  
Eric Westman ◽  
Sebastian Muehlboeck ◽  
Patrizia Mecocci ◽  
Bruno Vellas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Disease Experience

scholarly journals Toll-Like Receptor 2 and NLRP3 Cooperate To Recognize a Functional Bacterial Amyloid, Curli

2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 693-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn J. Rapsinski ◽  
Meghan A. Wynosky-Dolfi ◽  
Gertrude O. Oppong ◽  
Sarah A. Tursi ◽  
R. Paul Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Nlrp3 Inflammasome ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Secondary Amyloidosis ◽  
Toll Like Receptor ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Caspase 1 ◽  
Toll Like Receptor 2

Amyloids are proteins with cross-β-sheet structure that contribute to pathology and inflammation in complex human diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes, and secondary amyloidosis. Bacteria also produce amyloids as a component of their extracellular matrix during biofilm formation. Recently, several human amyloids were shown to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, leading to the activation of caspase 1 and production of interleukin 1β (IL-1β). In this study, we investigated the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by bacterial amyloids using curli fibers, produced bySalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium andEscherichia coli. Here, we show that curli fibers activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, leading to the production of IL-1β via caspase 1 activation. Investigation of the underlying mechanism revealed that activation of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) by curli fibers is critical in the generation of IL-1β. Interestingly, activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by curli fibers or by amyloid β of Alzheimer's disease does not cause cell death in macrophages. Overall, these data identify a cross talk between TLR2 and NLRP3 in response to the bacterial amyloid curli and generation of IL-1β as a product of this interaction.

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