scholarly journals The effectiveness of home-based exercise programmes on mobility and functional independence in community-dwelling adults with Alzheimer's disease: a critical review

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Samantha Rachael Brown ◽  
Samantha Yoward

Background/Aims In the UK, two-thirds of people with dementia are community-dwelling. Guidelines recommend exercise to promote independence among this population, however evidence to support this is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based exercise programmes on mobility and functional independence in people with Alzheimer's disease living in the community. Methods The following electronic databases were searched: AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, SPORTsDiscus, The Cochrane Library, PEDro, OpenGrey and Online Thesis. All included trials were assessed for methodological quality using PEDro bias scores and McMaster's Critical Appraisal Tool and Guideline. English language restrictions were applied. Results A total of seven trials were included within the review. Trial quality was mixed. All trials reported measures for mobility, while five trials included measures of functional independence. Results for the effectiveness of home-based exercise on mobility were mixed, with only two studies reporting significant improvements. Functional independence significantly improved in all trials. Conclusions The effectiveness of home-based exercise programmes on mobility in community-dwelling people with Alzheimer's disease remains inconclusive, while a growing body of evidence indicates its effectiveness in improving functional independence. However, high quality trials are scarce. Larger, randomised, controlled trials specific to this population are thus warranted.

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1399-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Nikolaus Dichter ◽  
Eva-Maria Wolschon ◽  
Gabriele Meyer ◽  
Sascha Köpke

Dementia is a chronic and currently incurable syndrome. Therefore, quality of life (QoL) is a major goal when caring for people with dementia (Gibson et al., 2010) and a major outcome in dementia research (Moniz-Cook et al., 2008). The measurement of QoL, especially proxy-rating, is challenging because of the proxy-perspective (Pickard and Knight, 2005), reliability (Dichter et al., 2016), validity (O'Rourke et al., 2015), and responsiveness (Perales et al., 2013). Probably due to these challenges, it has not been possible to show positive effects for QoL in almost all non-pharmacological interventions for people with dementia (Cooper et al., 2012). One recommended (Moniz-Cook et al., 2008) and frequently used instrument is the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease scale (QoL-AD), which was originally developed in the US for community-dwelling people with dementia. The QoL-AD consists of 13 items based on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from “1”=poor to “4”=excellent (Logsdon et al., 1999). The original instrument has been adapted for people living in nursing homes (NH) by Edelmann et al. (2005).


2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 251-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achille E. Tchalla ◽  
Florent Lachal ◽  
Noëlle Cardinaud ◽  
Isabelle Saulnier ◽  
Vincent Rialle ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (03) ◽  
pp. 505-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengmeng Yang ◽  
Dan Dan Xu ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Xinyou Liu ◽  
Robin Hoeven ◽  
...  

We performed a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy of natural medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Disease-specific and intervention terms were searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and PsycINFO to identify RCTs for the AD intervention of natural medicines, and searched for literatures in English language. The RCTs compared natural medicines and either placebo or orthodox medication in AD patients. The quality of literature was evaluated by Jadad's score and the Cochrane assessing tool to reduce the risk of bias. Meta-analysis and the heterogeneity of results across the trials were performed. Out of the literatures, 21 clinical reports were included in this review that satisfied the particular selection criteria. Apart from Ginkgo, other treatments we came across had minimal benefits and/or the methodological quality of the available trials was poor. The meta-analyses showed that Ginkgo had better outcomes than the placebo, with the standardized mean difference (SMD) between Ginkgo and the placebo on cognition being -1.62 (95% CI: -2.69 to -0.56) and on activities of daily living being -1.55 (95% CI: -2.55 to -0.55), with the existence of significant heterogeneity across studies. The meta-analysis for assessing the prevention effect of Ginkgo against AD suggested that risk ratio (RR) is 1.06 (95% CI: 0.92 to 1.22) between Gingko and the placebo, with no significant heterogeneity across studies (test for heterogeneity, p = 0.49). Our results suggest that Ginkgo may help established AD patients with cognitive symptoms but cannot prevent the neurodegenerative progression of the disease.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 565-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalpana P. Padala ◽  
Prasad R. Padala ◽  
Shelly Y. Lensing ◽  
Richard A. Dennis ◽  
Melinda M. Bopp ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 156918612110050
Author(s):  
Jumpei Mizuno ◽  
Ken Sadohara ◽  
Misato Nihei ◽  
Shinichi Onaka ◽  
Yuko Nishiura ◽  
...  

Objective/background: Agitation is a common behaviour of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Although healing robots have previously been used for alleviating agitation for people with dementia in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, its effects remain unclear whether an information-support robot capable of disseminating information with user needs may have similar effects when it is applied in community dwellings. This study was to investigate the effects of information-support robots for reducing agitation in older people with AD residing alone in community-dwellings. Methods One participant with AD who lived alone in a community-dwelling was recruited. Participant’s frequencies, durations, and time courses of four patterns of agitation at home at baseline and during intervention were analysed. In this study, agitation was defined as: (a) restlessness going to the corridor (RLtoC), (b) restlessness going to the toilet (RLtoT), (c) restlessness going to the entrance (RLtoE), and (d) restlessness going to multiple places (RLtoMP). In the intervention phase, the information-support robot disseminated daily schedule or date information to the participant. Results RLtoC and RLtoMP were significantly reduced in frequency during the intervention. The durations of each episode of RLtoT and RLtoMP in the intervention were slightly reduced than those at the baseline. There were no differences in time courses of episodes of RLtoC and RLtoMP after the intervention. Conclusion This case study showed that information-support robot was useful to alleviate agitation of an older adult with AD living alone in a community-dwelling. Further study is warranted.


Author(s):  
Roja Rahimi ◽  
Shekoufeh Nikfar ◽  
Masoud Sadeghi ◽  
Mohammad Abdollahi ◽  
Reza Heidary Moghaddam ◽  
...  

Background: It has been found that there is a link between hypertension and elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Herein, a meta-analysis based on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) was used to assess the effect of antihypertensive drugs on cognition and behavioral symptoms of AD patients. Method: The three databases – PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Library- were searched up to March 2020. The quality of the studies included in the meta-analysis was evaluated by the Jadad score. Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) included in two studies, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) included in three studies, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) in three studies were the main outcomes in this systematic review. Results: Out of 1506 studies retrieved in the databases, 5 RCTs included and analyzed in the meta-analysis. The pooled mean differences of CGIC, MMSE, and NPI in patients with AD receiving antihypertensive drugs compared to placebo was -1.76 with (95% CI = -2.66 to -0.86; P=0.0001), 0.74 (95% CI = 0.20 to 1.28; P= 0.007), and -9.49 (95% CI = -19.76 to 0.79; P = 0.07), respectively. Conclusion: The findings of the present meta-analysis show that antihypertensive drugs may improve cognition and behavioral symptoms of patients with AD. However, more well-designed RCTs with similar drugs are needed to achieve more conclusive results.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 610-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huifeng Zhang ◽  
Dan Liu ◽  
Huanhuan Huang ◽  
Yujia Zhao ◽  
Hui Zhou

Background: β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulates abnormally to senile plaque which is the initiator of Alzheimer's disease (AD). As one of the Aβ-degrading enzymes, Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) remains controversial for its protein level and activity in Alzheimer's brain. Methods: The electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, OVID and Sinomed were systemically searched up to Sep. 20th, 2017. And the published case-control or cohort studies were retrieved to perform the meta-analysis. Results: Seven studies for IDE protein level (AD cases = 293; controls = 126), three for mRNA level (AD cases = 138; controls = 81), and three for enzyme activity (AD cases = 123; controls = 75) were pooling together. The IDE protein level was significantly lower in AD cases than in controls (SMD = - 0.47, 95% CI [-0.69, -0.24], p < 0.001), but IDE mRNA and enzyme activity had no significant difference (SMD = 0.02, 95% CI [-0.40, 0.43] and SMD = 0.06, 95% CI [-0.41, 0.53] respectively). Subgroup analyses found that IDE protein level was decreased in both cortex and hippocampus of AD cases (SMD = -0.43, 95% CI [-0.71, -0.16], p = 0.002 and SMD = -0.53, 95% CI [-0.91, -0.15], p = 0.006 respectively). However, IDE mRNA was higher in cortex of AD cases (SMD = 0.71, 95% CI [0.14, 1.29], p = 0.01), not in hippocampus (SMD = -0.26, 95% CI [-0.58, 0.06]). Conclusions: Our results indicate that AD patients may have lower IDE protease level. Further relevant studies are still needed to verify whether IDE is one of the factors affecting Aβ abnormal accumulation and throw new insights for AD detection or therapy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Wei Qin ◽  
Wenwen Li ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
Min Gong ◽  
Tingting Li ◽  
...  

Background: The global race-dependent association of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype is not well understood. Transethnic analysis of APOE could clarify the role of genetics in AD risk across populations. Objective: This study aims to determine how race and APOE genotype affect the risks for AD. Methods: We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library since 1993 to Aug 25, 2020. A total of 10,395 reports were identified, and 133 were eligible for analysis with data on 77,402 participants. Studies contained AD clinical diagnostic and APOE genotype data. Homogeneous data sets were pooled in case-control analyses. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for developing AD were calculated for populations of different races and APOE genotypes. Results: The proportion of APOE genotypes and alleles differed between populations of different races. Results showed that APOE ɛ4 was a risk factor for AD, whereas APOE ɛ2 protected against it. The effects of APOE ɛ4 and ɛ2 on AD risk were distinct in various races, they were substantially attenuated among Black people. Sub-group analysis found a higher frequency of APOE ɛ4/ɛ4 and lower frequency of APOE ɛ3/ɛ3 among early-onset AD than late-onset AD in a combined group and different races. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis suggests that the association of APOE genotypes and AD differ between races. These results enhance our understanding of APOE-related risk for AD across race backgrounds and provide new insights into precision medicine for AD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document