A clinical comparison between cognitive rehabilitation training and Aricept for treating dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Objective To compare the curative effects of cognitive rehabilitation training and oral administration of Aricept on dementia associated with Parkinson's disease (PD).Methods Fifty patients with Parkinson's disease and mild to moderate dementia were divided into an experimental group (24 cases) and a control group (26 cases).The experimental group was given cognition training while the control group was given oral Aricept (5 mg daily for 4 weeks followed by 10mg daily for 8 weeks).The cognitive function of the two groups was evaluated using the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) before treatment and at the end of the 4th,8th and 12th week of treatment.The severity of the patients' PD was assessed with the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS).Results After 4,8 and 12 weeks of treatment,the average MoCA score of the experimental group had significantly improved compared with before treatment.The average MoCA score of the control group was significantly improved after 8 and 12 weeks.After 4 weeks of treatment the average MoCA score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group.After 4 weeks of training,the average spirit,behavior and emotion scores of the experimental group in the UPDRS were significantly higher than before treatment and also significantly higher than the control group's average scores.The motor scores showed no significant difference until after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment.Conclusion Both cognition training and Aricept can alleviate dementia associated with PD,but the former works faster and has no adverse effect on movement. Key words: Parkinson's disease; Dementia; Cognition; Rehabilitation; Aricept