Adapted Home-Based Exercises in Dementia: An Exploratory Pre-post Pilot and Feasibility Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) significantly impacts functional mobility and executive functions.
• Early intervention is crucial for managing prodromal or mild AD.
• Home-based exercise programs offer a potential avenue for intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an adapted Test-and-Exercise home-based program.
• To evaluate the program's impact on basic functional mobility and executive functions.
• To determine if the program meets feasibility criteria (recruitment, participation, cost, dropout).

Main Methods:

• Exploratory pre-post pilot and feasibility study (NCT04916964).
• Twelve participants (mean age 80.83 years) with prodromal/mild AD completed an 8-week program.
• Program involved supervised and unsupervised home-based exercises, with assessments before and after.

Main Results:

• All basic functional mobility measures showed small effect sizes.
• Five executive function measures demonstrated small to moderate effect sizes.
• All four feasibility criteria were successfully met.

Conclusions:

• The adapted Test-and-Exercise home program is feasible for individuals with early AD.
• The program shows potential effectiveness in improving functional mobility and executive functions.
• Future large-scale studies require adaptations, particularly regarding touch-screen technology use.