Effectiveness of motor-cognitive dual-task exercise via telerehabilitation in Alzheimer's disease: An online pilot randomized controlled study.

Objective: It is important to investigate the effectiveness of delivering the rehabilitation service using remote communication technologies, for conditions that face-to-face treatment is not possible. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of exercise treatment via home-based telerehabilitation (TR) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Twenty participants who were diagnosed as having the early-middle stage of AD were randomized into a TR group and control group. The TR group received real-time motor-cognitive dual-task exercise treatment via video conferencing, and the control group received no intervention for 6 weeks. The primary outcomes were Mini-Mental State Examination, Timed Up&Go Test, and the 5 Times Sit&Stand Test, and the secondary outcomes were One-leg Stance Test (OLST), Katz Activities of Daily Living Scale (Katz-ADL), Functional Independence Measure, Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form, Beck Anxiety Scale, Zarit Caregiver Burden Inventory (ZCBI) and the Warwick Edinburgh Well-being Scale. Outcomes were measured at baseline and post-treatment. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean change between the groups in favor of the TR group in all primary and secondary outcomes (p <.05), except for the ZCBI and OLST(p >.05). There was no significant difference in the comparison of the primary outcome measures between the groups in post-treatment results (p >.05); significant differences in all secondary outcome measures were observed in favor of the TR group (p <.05), except for the OLST, Katz-ADL, and ZCBI (p >.05). Conclusion: TR may provide a significant change in cognition and mobility, improve functional independence, and caregiver's well-being, and reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms in people with AD.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effectiveness of home-based telerehabilitation (TR) in treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results showed that TR may significantly improve cognition and mobility, enhance functional independence, and reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms in AD patients.