Article

The growing social emergency represented by Alzheimer's disease (AD)
and the lack of medical treatments able to modify the disease course have kindled
the interest in nonpharmacological therapies. Objective. We introduced a novel
nonpharmacological approach for people with AD (PWA) named Multidimensional
Stimulation group Therapy (MST) to improve PWA condition in different disease
domains: cognition, behavior, and motor functioning. Methods. Enrolling 60 PWA in
a mild to moderate stage of the disease, we evaluated the efficacy of MST with a
randomized-controlled study. Neuropsychological and neurobehavioral measures and
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were considered as outcome
measures. Results. The following significant intervention-related changes were
observed: reduction in Neuropsychiatric Inventory scale score, improvement in
language and memory subscales of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive
subscale, and increased fMRI activations in temporal brain areas, right insular
cortex, and thalamus. Conclusions. Cognitive-behavioral and fMRI results support
the notion that MST has significant effects in improving PWA cognitive-behavioral
status by restoring neural functioning.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS