Abstract
Maintaining cognitive function is essential for older adults with dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Smart Restored by Learning Exercise (SRLE) on cognitive functions, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and frontal lobe functions in elderly people with dementia. A total of 68 older adults with dementia participated in this study. A quasi-experimental design was used, and convenience sampling and assignment approaches were adopted to select the participants for experimental and control groups. The experimental group engaged in SRLE for 6 months. The control group received routine care without SRLE. The participants’ cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and frontal lobe function at baseline were evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI), and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), respectively, in month 3 and month 6. The Group by Time interaction was statistically significant for MMSE and FAB scores, which indicated the different group effects between months 3 and 6. The results also showed that the improvement of MMSE, NPI, and FAB scores in the SRLE group were significantly better than the control group (t = −5.99~4.90, p < 0.001) at both months 3 and 6. In conclusion, long-term facilities may provide residents with SRLE every day to prevent a decline in the residents’ levels of cognitive function.
Highlights
Dementia is a common degenerative disease among older adults
The results showed that the improvement of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI), and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) scores in the Smart Restored by Learning Exercise (SRLE)
This study investigated whether the SRLE could reduce the participants’ behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and improve or maintain their frontal lobe function
Summary
Dementia is a common degenerative disease among older adults. It is a syndrome characterized by slow degeneration, often accompanied by cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and psychological symptoms. These symptoms often lead to poor quality of self-care, fatigue of family members serving as caregivers, decreased quality of life, high mortality, and increased costs to the healthcare system [1,2]. Patients with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) often cause a substantial burden on caregivers [3,4]. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia are composed of a wide range of symptoms, including agitation, aggression, calling out repeatedly, sleep disturbance, wandering, and apathy [5]. In a systematic review of two meta-analyses and two additional RCT studies, the results showed that there is no clear evidence for efficacy of conventional antipsychotic agents on several
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