Objective:Patients with Alzheimer´s disease (AD) gradually lose their cognitive competence in the course of the disease, particularly memory. Loss of competence in daily living tasks is another hallmark feature of AD. The deficit and preserved competence is described in terms of neuropsychological functions and daily activities. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (NR) aim to facilitate the basic functions, for instance facilitation of memory performance with external aid, and training daily activities that are still preserved in early stage of the disease, aiming self-maintenance, more independence and better quality of life. The goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of NR in AD patient. Design:In this study, 6 patients with mild AD (age Mean: 77 ;MMSE Mean score: 22.5 ) and their caregivers, participated in a 14 week NR. The patients were attending NR sessions twice a week, one day individually (30 minutes) and the other in group (50 minutes). Materials and Methods:Before being assigned to the training group, patients were assessed with MMSE, ADL, MADRS, HAM-Anxiety, Functional Scale, Memory Questionnaire and neuropsychological battery (NB). After 14 weeks all patients were re-evaluated with the same instruments. Results:During training program patients showed improvement in activity of daily living and in the use of external aid (calendar, diary, note book). Qualitative data with caregivers also showed improvement in patient’s behavior and cognition (e.g. look diary and make less questions, spend less time in bed, stay more interested in things). Conclusion:Our results support the view that rehabilitation program in mild AD constitute a realistic goal, once it has the ability to slow down the manifestations of the disease, and improve psychiatric symptoms like depression and anxiety. These finding may indicate that patients were able to maintain their scores of mental assessment, not withstanding the fact that AD is a progressive disease.
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