Cognitive rehabilitation for elderly people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cognitive rehabilitation including tasks of cognitive training on performance of everyday activities in elderly people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease. [Subjects and Methods] Forty-three elderly people (15 men, 28 women) with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease who had a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 18 or above were randomly assigned to two groups: the cognitive rehabilitation group (experimental) and control group. This study used a randomized controlled trial design. Cognitive rehabilitation is consisted of 8 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes (individual 30 min, group 30 min). The eight weekly individual sessions of cognitive rehabilitation were performed consisting of an individualized intervention focusing on a personally meaningful goal. The eight weekly group sessions involved practicing time-and-place orientation, matching faces and names, and learning memory and sustaining attention. [Results] Significant improvements were observed in rating of occupation performance and satisfaction, Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD), and the orientation subscale of the MMSE in the experimental group, whereas participants in the control group did not show any significant difference in any tests between before and after the intervention. [Conclusion] Cognitive rehabilitation including tasks of cognitive training is an effective intervention for improving performance and satisfaction with respect to activities of daily living and specific cognitive functions.