Home-Based Electronic Cognitive Therapy in Patients With Alzheimer Disease: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Digital Health

Background:

• Home-based cognitive training for Alzheimer disease (AD) faces challenges due to disease progression.
• Feasibility of long-term, home-based computerized cognitive training for AD dementia remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 24-week home-based Constant Therapy app intervention for AD patients.
• Hypothesize daily usage of Constant Therapy by patients with AD over 24 weeks.

Main Methods:

• Recruited participants (50-90 years) with mild cognitive impairment due to AD or mild AD dementia.
• Randomly assigned participants to Constant Therapy (n=10) or active control (n=9) groups for 24 weeks.
• Assessed cognitive function using Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) every 6 weeks.

Main Results:

• Long-term use (24 weeks) of Constant Therapy was feasible in AD patients (80% adherence, 32 min/day usage).
• Participants improved accuracy and latency in Constant Therapy tasks, with gains in memory, attention, and arithmetic.
• The Constant Therapy group showed improvement in the RBANS coding subtest; no adverse events were reported.

Conclusions:

• Home-based computerized cognitive training with Constant Therapy is feasible for mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia stages of AD.
• Patients demonstrated higher adherence to Constant Therapy compared to paper-and-pencil training.
• Findings support further trials on Constant Therapy's efficacy in sustaining cognitive function in AD.