Partnering a Compensatory Application with Activity-Aware Prompting to Improve Use in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Clinical Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe ◽  
Katelyn Brown ◽  
Catherine Luna ◽  
Reanne Chilton ◽  
Catherine A. Sumida ◽  
...  

Background: Compensatory aids can help mitigate the impact of progressive cognitive impairment on daily living. Objective: We evaluate whether the learning and sustained use of an Electronic Memory and Management Aid (EMMA) application can be augmented through a partnership with real-time, activity-aware transition-based prompting delivered by a smart home. Methods: Thirty-two adults who met criteria for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) were randomized to learn to use the EMMA app on its own (N = 17) or when partnered with smart home prompting (N = 15). The four-week, five-session manualized EMMA training was conducted individually in participant homes by trained clinicians. Monthly questionnaires were completed by phone with trained personnel blind to study hypotheses. EMMA data metrics were collected continuously for four months. For the partnered condition, activity-aware prompting was on during training and post-training months 1 and 3, and off during post-training month 2. Results: The analyzed aMCI sample included 15 EMMA-only and 14 partnered. Compared to the EMMA-only condition, by week four of training, participants in the partnered condition were engaging with EMMA more times daily and using more basic and advanced features. These advantages were maintained throughout the post-training phase with less loss of EMMA app use over time. There was little differential impact of the intervention on self-report primary (everyday functioning, quality of life) and secondary (coping, satisfaction with life) outcomes. Conclusion: Activity-aware prompting technology enhanced acquisition, habit formation and long-term use of a digital device by individuals with aMCI. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03453554).

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriko Ogama ◽  
Takashi Sakurai ◽  
Naoki Saji ◽  
Toshiharu Nakai ◽  
Shumpei Niida ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are exhibited in most patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). Although white matter hyperintensity (WMH) is often observed with AD, the precise role of WMH in BPSD remains unclear. The current study aimed to identify the impact of regional WMH on specific features of BPSD in persons with mild to moderate AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods: A sample of 256 female outpatients with AD (n = 217) and aMCI (n = 39) were recruited. We assessed BPSD using the Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale. WMH and brain atrophy were evaluated using an automatic segmentation program. Regional WMH was evaluated as periventricular hyperintensity (PVH) and deep WMH in frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes. Results: Whole-brain WMH was associated with verbal aggressiveness. In multivariate analysis, PVH in the frontal lobe was independently associated with verbal aggressiveness after adjustment for brain atrophy and clinical confounders. Conclusion: The current results indicated that PVH in the frontal lobe was independently associated with verbal aggressiveness.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruaridh Clark ◽  
Niia Nikolova ◽  
William J. McGeown ◽  
Malcolm Macdonald

AbstractEigenvector alignment, introduced herein to investigate human brain functional networks, is adapted from methods developed to detect influential nodes and communities in networked systems. It is used to identify differences in the brain networks of subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and healthy controls (HC). Well-established methods exist for analysing connectivity networks composed of brain regions, including the widespread use of centrality metrics such as eigenvector centrality. However, these metrics provide only limited information on the relationship between regions, with this understanding often sought by comparing the strength of pairwise functional connectivity. Our holistic approach, eigenvector alignment, considers the impact of all functional connectivity changes before assessing the strength of the functional relationship, i.e. alignment, between any two regions. This is achieved by comparing the placement of regions in a Euclidean space defined by the network’s dominant eigenvectors. Eigenvector alignment recognises the strength of bilateral connectivity in cortical areas of healthy control subjects, but also reveals degradation of this commissural system in those with AD. Surprisingly little structural change is detected for key regions in the Default Mode Network, despite significant declines in the functional connectivity of these regions. In contrast, regions in the auditory cortex display significant alignment changes that begin in aMCI and are the most prominent structural changes for those with AD. Alignment differences between aMCI and AD subjects are detected, including notable changes to the hippocampal regions. These findings suggest eigenvector alignment can play a complementary role, alongside established network analytic approaches, to capture how the brain’s functional networks develop and adapt when challenged by disease processes such as AD.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 897-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe ◽  
Dennis G. Dyck

AbstractThere is increasing need for early, pro-active programs that can delay dementia diagnosis and enhance well-being of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and their care-partners (i.e., care-dyads). This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of a combined cognitive rehabilitation and multi-family group treatment (CR-MFG) that was designed to facilitate adoption of newly learned cognitive strategies into the care-dyads everyday lives. Analyzed data included 23 care-dyads who participated in CR-MFG treatment and 23 care-dyads in standard care (SC). The 3-month intervention consisted of individual joining sessions, an educational workshop, and 20/twice weekly multifamily memory strategy training and problem-solving sessions. Everyday functioning, memory, and psychological functioning (i.e., quality-of-life, depression, coping) were assessed. The CR-MFG intervention was associated with significant post-test group differences and improved post-test performances by the MCI participants on performance-based measures of everyday functioning and neuropsychological tests of memory. There was also some suggestion that CR-MFG care-partners perceived positive change in the everyday functioning of the MCI participants. In contrast, no post-test group differences were found for either care-dyad member on the self-report psychological measures; care-partners in the treatment group did self-report improved coping behaviors at post-test. These 3-month results are preliminary but suggestive that CR-MFG may produce modest, practical everyday functional benefits for persons with MCI. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–12)


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 697-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Benoit ◽  
Isabelle Rouleau ◽  
Roxane Langlois ◽  
Valérie Dostie ◽  
Marie-Jeanne Kergoat ◽  
...  

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