Effects of a multidisciplinar cognitive rehabilitation program for patients with mild Alzheimer's disease
Clinics
; 66(8): 1395-1400, 2011. tab
Article
em En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-598382
Biblioteca responsável:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on cognition, quality of life, and neuropsychiatry symptoms in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.METHOD:
The present study was a single-blind, controlled study that was conducted at a university-based day-hospital memory facility. The study included 25 Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers and involved a 12-week stimulation and psychoeducational program. The comparison group consisted of 16 Alzheimer's patients in waiting lists for future intervention. INTERVENTION Group sessions were provided by a multiprofessional team and included memory training, computer-assisted cognitive stimulation, expressive activities (painting, verbal expression, writing), physiotherapy, and physical training. Treatment was administered twice a week during 6.5-h gatherings. MEASUREMENTS The assessment battery comprised the following tests Mini-Mental State Examination, Short Cognitive Test, Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, and Geriatric Depression Scale. Test scores were evaluated at baseline and the end of the study by raters who were blinded to the group assignments.RESULTS:
Measurements of global cognitive function and performance on attention tasks indicated that patients in the experimental group remained stable, whereas controls displayed mild but significant worsening. The intervention was associated with reduced depression symptoms for patients and caregivers and decreased neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's subjects. The treatment was also beneficial for the patients' quality of life.CONCLUSION:
This multimodal rehabilitation program was associated with cognitive stability and significant improvements in the quality of life for Alzheimer's patients. We also observed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms and caregiver burden. These results support the notion that structured nonpharmacological interventions can yield adjunct and clinically relevant benefits in dementia treatment.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
LILACS
Assunto principal:
Equipe de Assistência ao Paciente
/
Qualidade de Vida
/
Cuidadores
/
Transtornos Cognitivos
/
Doença de Alzheimer
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Etiology_studies
Limite:
Aged
/
Female
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Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Clinics
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil