Non-medical Therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease Get Scientific Backing

Thinking and walking

Identifying the presence of dementia early appears to be the best weapon in delaying its severity. Even without expensive medical exams, there are markers that might indicate a problem.

“We all forget where we left the keys or remote control from time to time,” says Michael Valenzuela of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and author of It’s Never too Late to Change Your Mind. “If, however, we were to forget what the remote control is for, then this is a more serious type of memory issue that would require follow-up investigation.”

In his presentation, Valenzuela cited two studies that demonstrated that physical exercise and brain training using computer programs can delay—and even improve—dementia.

In one study, researchers found that four weeks of computer brain training helped improve the overall cognitive abilities of those with Alzheimer’s disease. Significantly, these improvements continued for three months after the training stopped.

The second study found that six months of simple, self-directed physical exercise resulted in a modest, but persistent, improvement in mental abilities as long as one year later.

“The potential preventative effects of brain training and physical exercise are much stronger before a person is diagnosed with dementia,” Valenzuela cautions. “After diagnosis, these strategies may have some value, but are qualitatively different and lead to less consistent outcomes.”

Caring for the caregiver

Shifting the focus from patient to caregiver, Mary Mittelman of the Center for Excellence on Brain Aging at New York University’s Langone Medical Center reported on a 20-year study of how giving caregivers support helped delay a patient’s entry into a nursing home.

Mittelman’s team monitored Alzheimer’s caregivers (usually family members) who were given counseling and training on how to deal with their patients—and compared them to caregivers who received no such support. The results were encouraging, and showed the support had a significant effect on the caregivers’ emotional and physical health, and even their reactions to their patient’s behavior, which could be distressing and trying. That helped translate to the patients remaining at home about a year and a half longer.

Caregivers, Mittelman says, need ongoing support and help. “Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t remain static,” she says. “ It changes over time. What you learn to deal with today is not what you’re going to confront a year from now.”

Chris Haines is a writer living in New York.