title: A randomized controlled trial of brain-activating rehabilitation for elderly participants with dementia in residential care homes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to prove the effectiveness of brain-activating rehabilitation for dementia, which consisted of 5 principles: pleasant atmosphere, communication, praising, social role, and supportive care.
  
  
  METHODS
  The design was a randomized controlled trial that was not blinded. Fifty-four elderly participants with dementia (mean age: 85.2 years) were selected. Intervention based on the 5 principles of brain-activating rehabilitation was conducted for 1 h, twice a week, for 12 weeks (24 sessions). The control group had no treatment. Outcome measures consisted of two observation scales, namely sum of boxes in clinical dementia rating (CDR-SB) and the multidimensional observation scale for elderly subjects (MOSES), and two cognitive tests: the Hasegawa dementia scale revised (HDS-R) and trail making test A.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Repeated measure ANCOVA showed a significant interaction for total score of CDR-SB (F = 7.190, p = 0.015) and MOSES (F = 4.525, p = 0.038). There were no significant changes in the two cognitive test scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intervention based on the principles of brain-activating rehabilitation was effective in maintaining and improving daily life functions in elderly participants with dementia in residential care homes.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Care, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Takasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamagami
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: Yohko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maki
authors.forename: Haruyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Brain activity; Dementia care; Non-pharmacological therapies; Randomized clinical trials; Rehabilitation; Reminiscence therapy