scholarly journals Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in Mild and Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease Patients

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Ávila ◽  
Isabel A. M. Carvalho ◽  
Cássio M.C. Bottino ◽  
Eliane C. Miotto
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Neuropsychological Tests ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation ◽  
Elderly Outpatients ◽  
Before And After ◽  
At Home

Objective:The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of a neuropsychological rehabilitation (NR) program on patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Methods:The sample was composed of 16 elderly outpatients who participated in an open trial with rivastigmine (6 to 12 mg/day) for 4 months and were randomized to 3 different groups: 1. group NR (N= 5), 2. individualized NR (N= 6) and 3. NR at home under supervision of a relative or caregiver (N= 5). All 3 groups fulfilled the same NR protocol consisting of a once a week session. Just before and after the 22 week period of rehabilitation, all patients were evaluated using psychiatric and functional scales, and neuropsychological tests by interviewers that did not participate in the cognitive training.Results:The intervention did not produce any statistically significant change, but small gains were observed on some cognition tests, activities of daily living (ADL), and psychiatric symptoms in groups 1 and 2.Conclusion:Group NR is recommended for reducing psychiatric symptoms, and individualized NR for improving ADL. NR at home either has no associated benefits, or the training sessions were not appropriately conducted by the caregiver. However, additional research with larger samples is necessary to confirm these observations.

Institutional Respite Care: Benefits and Risks for Dementia Patients and Caregivers

1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geri Adler ◽  
Linda Ott ◽  
Mary Jelinski ◽  
James Mortimer ◽  
Renee Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Respite Care ◽  
Dementia Patients ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Return Home

Thirty-seven dementia patients and their caregivers were studied before and after a two-week in-hospital respite stay. Institutional respite care did not alter behavior problems in dementia patients, nor did changes in performance of activities of daily living (ADLs) by Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients exceed those expected from disease progression. Caregivers exhibited an improvement in burden and depression during the respite study, but levels returned to baseline following the patient's return home.

scholarly journals Cognitive Training Modulates Brain Hypersynchrony in a Population at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Suárez-Méndez ◽  
Ricardo Bruña ◽  
David López-Sanz ◽  
Pedro Montejo Carrasco ◽  
Mercedes Montenegro-Peña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Preclinical Ad ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Before And After

Abstract BackgroundRecent neuroimaging studies in humans and animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) demonstrated brain hyper-synchrony under amyloid burden, which is being identified as a proxy for conversion to dementia. The potential of non-pharmacological interventions to reverse this neurophysiological phenomenon in the early stages of the disease is still an open question. MethodBrain synchrony modulation by cognitive training (CogTr) was examined in a cohort of healthy controls (HC, n = 41, 22 trained) and individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD, n = 49, 24 trained). Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) activity and comprehensive neuropsychological scores were acquired before and after completion of a ten-week CogTr program aimed at improving cognitive function and daily living performance. Functional connectivity (FC) analyses were carried out using the phase-locking value. A mixed-effects ANOVA with factors stage (pre-intervention or post-intervention), CogTr (trained or non-trained), and cognitive status (HC or SCD) was used to estimate significant FC changes across MEG recordings.ResultsAlpha-band FC increases were observed for the whole sample (both trained and non-trained), but the effect was different in each group. For the trained group (both HC and SCD), we report a reduction in the FC increase within temporo-parietal and temporo-occipital connections. This effect was particularly manifest in trained participants with SCD, for whom the reduction in the FC increase also correlated with enhanced cognitive performance in different neuropsychological domains (memory, language, and executive function).ConclusionsCogTr programs could mitigate the increase in FC observed in preclinical AD, promoting brain synchrony normalization in groups at increased risk for developing the disease.

scholarly journals Cognitive Training in a Large Group of Patients Affected by Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease can have Long-Lasting Effects: A Case-Control Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Cavallo ◽  
Enrico Zanalda ◽  
Harriet Johnston ◽  
Alessandro Bonansea ◽  
Chiara Angilletta
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Neuropsychological Tests ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Control Study

Introduction: Cognitive training in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has recently started to demonstrate its efficacy. We used our ‘puzzle-like’ task (GEO) as training for a large group of early-stage AD patients, to detect its effects over time.Method: AD patients (N = 40) and healthy controls (N = 40) were involved. Participants were administered the Geographical Exercises for cognitive Optimization (GEO) task. Participants underwent individual sessions with GEO three times a week for 2 months, and then their performance was recorded again. Lastly, at the 12-month follow-up the GEO task was administered for the last time.Results: Patients’ scores were significantly worse than controls’ scores only on a few neuropsychological tests. We ran a repeated measures GLM by considering groups’ performance on the GEO task at the assessment points. Results showed a significant main effect of group, and a significant effect of the interaction between group and time: patients’ performances both at the end of the training and at the follow-up were virtually identical to controls’ performances.Conclusions: Patients effectively acquired new procedural abilities, and their achievements were stable at follow-up. This study suggests the GEO is a useful strategy for cognitive training in AD, and should prompt further investigations about the degree of generalisability of patients’ acquired skills.

A Case Study of the Long-Lasting Effects of Cognitive Training on Similar Tasks in Alzheimer’s Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1215-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Cavallo ◽  
Chiara Angilletta
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Optimization Task ◽  
Control Intervention ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Over Time

Objective: Cognitive training allows patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to reinforce their cognitive abilities. Here, we investigated the generalizability of trained skills to novel tasks, and their stability over time. Method: One patient underwent a structured cognitive training using the GEO (Geographical Exercise for cognitive Optimization) task, whereas 10 patients underwent a control intervention. Participants’ performances on the GEO task, on a similar untrained task, and on a different untrained task were recorded before and after the intervention, and at the 24-month follow-up. Results: On both the trained and the similar untrained tasks, patient’s and controls’ performance significantly differed from one another, with trained patient showing a significant acquirement of procedural skills that were maintained over time. Conclusion: Our preliminary evidence showed that a cognitive training could allow patients to acquire and maintain new skills not only on performing a trained task but surprisingly also on a similar untrained task.

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