IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 5290: Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Stimulation on People with Mild to Moderate Dementia due to Alzheimer ’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

IJERPH, Vol. 18, Pages 5290: Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Stimulation on People with Mild to Moderate Dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105290 Authors: Jorge Oliveira Pedro Gamito Teresa Souto Rita Conde Maria Ferreira Tatiana Corotnean Adriano Fernandes Henrique Silva Teresa Neto The use of ecologically oriented approaches with virtual reality (VR) depicting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a promising approach for interventions on acquired brain injuries. However, the results of such an approach on dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are still lacking. This research reports on a pilot randomized controlled trial that aimed to explore the effect of a cognitive stimulation reproducing several IADL in VR on people with mild-to-moderate dementia caused by AD. Patients were recruited from residential care homes of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA), which is a relevant nonprofit social and healthcare provider in Portugal. This intervention lasted two months, with a total of 10 sessions (two sessions/week). A neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the baseline and follow-up using established neuropsychological instruments for assessing memory, attention, and executive functions. The sample consisted of 17 patients of both genders randomly assigned to the experimental and control g...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research