Abstract Background Non-pharmalogical interventions represent an important complement to standard pharmalogical treatment in dementia. Objective This study aims to evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on cognitive ability, quality of life and depression symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND). Methods Ninety-seven older adults were recruited to the present study. Of these, 70 patients had mild AD and were allocated into experimental (n = 54) or control (n = 16) groups. Two additional active comparison groups were constituted with patients with moderate AD (n = 13) or with CIND (n = 14) who also received the intervention. The multidisciplinary rehabilitation program lasted for 12 weeks and was composed by sessions of memory training, recreational activities, verbal expression and writing, physical therapy and physical training, delivered in two weekly 6-hour sessions. Results As compared to controls, mild AD patients who received the intervention had improvements in cognition (p = 0.021) and quality of life (p = 0.003), along with a reduction in depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). As compared to baseline, CIND patients displayed at the end of the intervention improvements in cognition (p = 0.005) and depressive symptoms (p = 0.011). No such benefits were found among patients with moderate AD.Discussion: This multidisciplinary rehabilitation program was beneficial for patients with mild AD and CIND. However, patients with moderate dementia did not benefit from the intervention.

Limited information is available about subjective memory and strategy use in seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We investigated whether differences exist in the perception of changes in memory, perceived frequency of forgetting, overall memory evaluation, and strategy use between seniors with MCI and unimpaired older adults. The study included 56 participants, aged 60 years and older, including 28 normal controls (NC) and 28 MCI patients. The participants completed the Short Cognitive Performance Test, the Story and Grocery list recall tasks, the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, the Memory Complaint Questionnaire for the perception of changes in episodic memory, the McNair Frequency of Forgetting Questionnaire, and a single question that evaluated overall memory. The Bousfield semantic clustering measure was calculated to assess semantic clustering for list recall. The number of underlined words during story encoding was calculated to assess strategy use. Participants with MCI had significantly worse scores on Story and Grocery list recall, semantic clustering, and overall memory evaluation. No differences were found in the number of underlined words. List recall was significantly correlated with semantic clustering in both groups (NC: r = .58, p = .001; MCI: r = .57, p = .002). Participants with MCI appeared to be less efficacious when using memory strategies, which may be associated with poor memory performance.

Resumo O envelhecimento está associado ao declínio de algumas funções cognitivas, entretanto, este fato não impede que a pessoa idosa encontre formas de compensar déficits. Estudos anteriores documentaram que a pessoa idosa sem declínio cognitivo pode beneficiar-se de programas de treino. A eficácia de intervenções cognitivas junto à população idosa sem demência mas com alterações cognitivas (comprometimento cognitivo leve, CCL) ainda não foi testada amplamente. Objetivos: Avaliar o impacto de treino cognitivo de 8 sessões na funcionalidade e desempenho cognitivo em idosos com CCL. Métodos: 16 idosos com CCL receberam treino cognitivo e 18 participaram como grupo controle; pacientes e controles foram avaliados antes e depois da intervenção com o Short Cognitive Test (SKT), Direct Assessment of Funcional Scale Revised (DAFS-R), Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (GDS) e o Teste do Desenho do Relógio (TDR). Resultados: Foi observada melhora significante no grupo experimental do pré para o pós-teste no desempenho em atenção (SKT), orientação temporal, habilidade para fazer compras e lidar com dinheiro (DAFS-R) e diminuição nos sintomas depressivos (GDS). Conclusões: Estes resultados destacam a importância da intervenção não-farmacológica em idosos com CCL para compensar déficits cognitivos.

Abstract Aging is associated with cognitive decline, yet this does not prevent older adults from finding ways to compensate for age-related deficits. Earlier studies have shown that cognitively unimpaired older adults can benefit from training programs. The efficacy of cognitive interventions among older adults without dementia but with cognitive decline (mild cognitive impairment, MCI) has not yet been widely tested. Objectives: To evaluate the impact of 8-session cognitive training on the cognitive and functional performance of older adults with MCI. Methods: 16 older adults diagnosed with MCI received cognitive training (18 participated as controls). All participants were assessed pre and post intervention using the Short Cognitive Test (SKT), Direct Assessment of Functional Scale Revised (DAFS-R), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and Clock Drawing Test (CDT). Results: A significant improvement was observed in the study group between pre and post-test in attention (SKT), time orientation, shopping skills and dealing with finances (DAFS-R) along with reduced depressive symptoms (GDS). Conclusion: These results indicate the importance of non-pharmacological interventions for older adults with MCI to help compensate for cognitive decline.