Effectiveness of a year-long individual cognitive stimulation program in Portuguese older adults with cognitive impairment.

Cognitive stimulation is a recommended therapy with positive effects on the cognitive performance of older adults with neurocognitive disorders. However, there are few one-on-one, long-term interventions applied by professionals. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of 47-week individual cognitive stimulation (iCS) interventions on cognition, mood, instrumental activities of daily living, and quality of life in older adults, with neurocognitive disorders using a single-blind, randomized, parallel two-arm RCT. A sample of 59 older adults with neurocognitive disorders (predominantly Alzheimer's disease), who were non-institutionalized but socially vulnerable, was selected. The intervention group (n = 30) received 47 iCS weekly sessions. The control group (n = 29) maintained their baseline treatments. Outcomes were global cognitive function, cognitive impairment, mood, instrumental activities of daily living, and self-reported quality of life. All participants were assessed at baseline, 25 weeks, and 50 weeks. The results showed a significant effect of the intervention on MMSE, MoCA, GDS-15. Individual cognitive stimulation may have beneficial effects on the cognitive function and mood of older adults with cognitive impairment.

Programa de estimulación cognitiva individual de larga duración para personas con trastorno neurocognitivo leve: estudio piloto / Long-term individual cognitive stimulation program in patients with mild neurocognitive disorder: a pilot study

Introducción. Existen evidencias que sugieren que la estimulación cognitiva produce beneficios cognitivos en personas con trastorno neurocognitivo leve. Sin embargo, el tamaño del efecto encontrado es de pequeño a moderado, y se desconoce el efecto de las intervenciones individuales de larga duración y, más concretamente, sobre dominios cognitivos específicos. Objetivo. Evaluar la eficacia, viabilidad y aceptabilidad de una intervención de estimulación cognitiva individual de larga duración para personas con trastorno neurocognitivo leve. Pacientes y métodos. Un total de 30 personas con trastorno neurocognitivo leve fueron asignadas a un grupo de intervención de estimulación cognitiva (n = 15) o a un grupo control (n = 15). La intervención consistió en 88 sesiones individuales de unos 45 minutos, con una periodicidad de dos veces por semana. Evaluadores independientes valoraron el nivel de rendimiento cognitivo, los síntomas depresivos y el nivel de autonomía en la realización de actividades básicas de la vida diaria. Resultados. Tras la intervención, se encontró una mejoría significativa en el grupo de intervención en comparación con el grupo control en el rendimiento cognitivo global (d = 0,83), concretamente en el dominio del lenguaje (d hasta 1,50), y una menor sintomatología depresiva en el grupo de intervención en comparación con el control (d = 0,93). Sólo un 6,7% de los participantes abandonó el estudio, asistiendo a un promedio de 83 ± 12,1 sesiones. Conclusiones. Los resultados apoyan la eficacia, viabilidad y aceptabilidad de la intervención, y justifican la realización de un ensayo controlado aleatorizado aplicado a una muestra mayor

Introduction. There is evidence to suggest that cognitive stimulation produces cognitive benefits in people with mild neurocognitive disorder. However, the effect has been previously demonstrated to be minimal to moderate and the effect of long-term individual interventions, namely on specific cognitive domains, is unknown. Aim. To assess the efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of a long-term individual cognitive stimulation intervention for patients with mild neurocognitive disorder. Patients and methods. Patients (n = 30) with mild neurocognitive disorder were assigned to a cognitive stimulation intervention group (n = 15) or to a control group (n = 15). The intervention consisted of 88 individual sessions, approximately 45 minutes long, with two sessions per week. External evaluators assessed the level of alteration in cognitive performance, depressive symptoms and the level of independence in the performance of basic activities of daily living. Results. After the intervention, a significant improvement was found in the intervention group compared to the control group in overall cognitive performance (d = 0.83), specifically in the language domain (d until 1.50). There were also lower depressive symptoms in the intervention group compared to the control group (d = 0.93). Only 6.7% of the participants dropped out the study, with participants attending a mean of 83 ± 12.1 sessions. Conclusions. The results support the efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of the intervention for mild neurocognitive disorder and justify a randomized controlled trial of the program with a larger sample