Effects of a multicomponent day-care program on cerebral blood flow in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a prodromal phase of dementia and is considered an important period for intervention to prevent conversion to dementia. It has been well established that multicomponent day-care programs including exercise training, cognitive intervention and music therapy have beneficial effects on cognition, but the effects on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in MCI remain unknown. This study examined whether a multicomponent day-care program would have beneficial effects on the longitudinal changes of CBF in MCI patients.

Participants were 24 patients with MCI attending a day-care program; they underwent two ⁹⁹ mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer single photon emission computed tomography scans during the study period. We evaluated the association between the changes of regional cerebral blood flow and the attendance rate.

There was a significant negative correlation between the reduction of regional CBF in the right parietal region and the attendance rate. We found no significant relation between the baseline CBF images and the attendance rate.

Our results suggest that continuous participation in a multicomponent day-care program might prevent reduction in brain activity in patients with MCI.