Interactive computer-training as a therapeutic tool in Alzheimer’s disease☆
Section snippets
Subjects and procedures
Subjects were nine patients with the diagnosis of probable AD according to DSM-III-R12 and National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS)- Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association (ADRDA) criteria,13 nine patients with a major depressive episode (DSM-III-R), and 10 age-matched healthy normal control subjects. Demographic and clinical data are given in Table 1. In each group there were seven female subjects, two males in the AD and major
Training variables
Compared to the depressed patients and control subjects, the AD patients performed significantly worse in all four training variables [latency: F(1,16) = 4.57, P < .027; repeat of instruction: F(2,15) = 5 26, P < .02; mistakes: F(2,15) = 7.0, P < .007; multiple-choice questions: F(2,15) = 5.20, P < .02]. Multiple post-hoc Scheffé tests did not reveal any significant differences between patients with depression and the control group (Fig 2).
To determine changes within each individual group
Discussion
The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a computerized training approach, that relates to activities of daily living in AD patients, and to compare the results with a psychiatric and a healthy control group. As regards the demented patients, in this study we replicated and confirmed results of previous studies with this novel approach to computer-based training in AD patients. With regard to all measured training variables there was a uniform trend towards an improved
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E.S. is supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, SNF no. 63-58040.99.