Cognitive intervention therapy as treatment for behaviour disorders in Alzheimer disease: evidence on efficacy and neurobiological correlations

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPS) is very high among patients with Alzheimer disease (AD); more than 90% of AD patients will present such symptoms during the course of the disease. These symptoms result in poorer quality of life for both patients and caregivers and increased healthcare costs. BPS are the main factors involved in increases to the caregiver burden, and they often precipitate the admission of patients to residential care centres.

Development: Current consensus holds that intervention models combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are the most effective for AD patients. Several studies have shown cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine combined with cognitive intervention therapy (CIT) to be effective for improving patients' cognitive function and functional capacity for undertaking daily life activities. However, the efficacy of CIT as a treatment for BPS has not yet been clearly established, which limits its use for this purpose in clinical practice. The objective of this review is to gather available evidence on the efficacy of cognitive intervention therapy (CIT) on BPS in patients with AD.

Conclusions: The results of this review suggest that CIT may have a beneficial effect on BPS in patients with AD and should therefore be considered a treatment option for patients with AD and BPS.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Behavioural and psychological symptoms; Cognitive stimulation; Efficacy evaluation; Enfermedad de Alzheimer; Estimulación cognitiva; Evaluación de eficacia; Intervenciones psicosociales; Non-pharmacological treatment; Psychosocial therapies; Síntomas conductuales y psicológicos; Terapias no farmacológicas.