Cognitive stimulation program in patients older than 65 years old with mild cognitive deterioration/mild dementia: pilot study in the Alzheimer Family Association in the city of Amposta.

Identifier:  TFM:527

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM527

Authors:  Brunet Reverté, Núria

Abstract:
INTRODUCTION: Dementia is a syndrome which origin is mostly chronic or progressive, characterized by an alteration of multiple superior cortical functions. The dementia approach must be global, combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments that improve quality of life and slow down the progression of dementia, its cognitive and functional loss. Among the non-pharmacological therapies, the programs with the most scientific evidence are those of cognitive intervention. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive stimulation in people older than 65 years old diagnosed with mild cognitive deterioration/mild dementia. METHODOLOGY: Randomized, controlled and parallel intervention pilot study in participants with mild cognitive deterioration and moderate cognitive deterioration/mild dementia assigned in intervention group (n = 9) and control group (n = 9). The intervention was in groups, lasting 1h 30 minutes, two days for week for 7 weeks (altogether, 14 sessions). The Mini-Mental Lobo Test was used to establish the cognitive deterioration, the Blessed scale and the Lawton and Brody test for the functional status, and the Yesavage scale for depression. RESULTS: After the intervention, the control group did not show differences before and after the intervention. However, the intervention group improved significantly the cognitive deterioration (p = 0.048) although they remained in the same range (30-35 = normality). In addition, they improved the functional status (p = 0.049), even though they remained in the same range (4-14 suspected dementia). CONCLUSIONS: The current study has demonstrated the effectiveness of the cognitive stimulation in people with a mild or moderate cognitive deterioration/mild dementia because it has increased the cognitive status, and they had been maintained in a functional and emotional level. In addition, the participants experienced an improvement in their behaviour, with less shrinkage and less irritability, increasing the well-being of the person and their family.