Abstract
Sixty-three patients with dementia were introduced to group comprehensive cognitive therapy. Twenty-six cases involved was vascular dementia, fifteen dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT), ten dementia with Lewy-body (Lewy), and twelve other types of dementia. Their average Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was 22.7 ± 4.0. The therapy program consisted of language, spatiality, construction, mathematics, attention, memory, and execution. The therapy was carried out weekly, the required time was about one hour, and fifteen people attended per group.
We analyzed the effects of this therapy by MMSE scores and MMSE sub-item scores. After four months, the MMSE scores of the DAT group, Lewy group and middle stage of dementia group (MMSE score : 21∼23) were significantly improved (p <0.05). Among MMSE sub-items, orientation and language scores were significantly improved (p <0.05).
These results exceeded those in several clinical reports on the effects of donepezil hydrochloride in dementia cases at a similar stage to that of this study. The findings suggest benefits from use of donepezil hydrochloride together with comprehensive cognitive therapy for dementia sufferers.
