title: Cognitive Rehabilitation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Controlled Intervention Trial.
abstract: Cognitive Rehabilitation for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an integrative multimodal intervention. It aims to maintain autonomy and quality of life by enhancing the patients' abilities to compensate for decreased cognitive functioning.
  
  
  
  We evaluated the feasibility of a group-based Cognitive Rehabilitation approach in mild AD dementia and assessed its effect on activities of daily living (ADL).
  
  
  
  We included 16 patients with AD dementia in a controlled partial-randomized design. We adapted the manual-guided Cognitive Rehabilitation program (CORDIAL) to a group setting. Over the course of three months, one group received the Cognitive Rehabilitation intervention (n = 8), while the other group received a standardized Cognitive Training as an active control condition (n = 8). ADL-competence was measured as primary outcome. The secondary outcome parameters included cognitive abilities related to daily living, functional cognitive state, and non-cognitive domains, e.g., quality of life. For each scale, we assessed the interaction effect 'intervention by time', i.e., from pre-to post-intervention.
  
  
  
  We found no significant interaction effect of intervention by time on the primary outcome ADL-competence. The interaction effect was significant for quality of life (Cohen's d: -1.43), showing an increase in the intervention group compared with the control group.
  
  
  
  Our study demonstrates the feasibility of a group-based Cognitive Rehabilitation program for patients with mild AD dementia. The Cognitive Rehabilitation showed no significant effect on ADL, possibly reflecting a lack of transfer between the therapy setting and real life. However, the group setting enhanced communication skills and coping mechanisms. Effects on ADL may not have reached statistical significance due to a limited sample size. Furthermore, future studies might use an extended duration of the intervention and integrate caregivers to a greater extent to increase transfer to activities of daily living.
authors.affiliation: DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brueggen
authors.affiliation: DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.affiliation: DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Sina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ochmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfaff
authors.affiliation: DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Webel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: DZNE German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Site Rostock/Greifswald, Germany.|Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teipel
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003071:Cognition; D003142:Communication; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000066530:Neurological Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; cognitive rehabilitation; cognitive training; dementia; mild cognitive impairment