Short‐term effect of combined drug therapy and cognitive stimulation therapy on the cognitive function of Alzheimer's disease

Background: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (i.e. donepezil) are known to benefit Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. However, the combined effects of acetylcholinesterase and cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) are still debated. The present study examined their combined effects on the progression of cognitive decline in AD. Methods: The present study was a non‐randomized controlled study and included two groups of patients with AD (i.e. CST group and control group). The CST group consisted of 31 patients with AD who received donepezil and weekly, 30‐min CST sessions over the course of 7 weeks. The control group consisted of 18 patients who received only donepezil. Changes in cognitive abilities were assessed with Hasegawa's Dementia Scale‐Revised (HDS‐R) and were statistically analyzed by repeated‐measure analysis of variance (anova ). Results: ANOVA showed a significant group × time interaction effect on the HDS‐R score. HDS‐R scores for the CST group increased significantly during the intervention period, whereas the scores for the control group did not increase. Differences between the means of pre‐ and post‐test HDS‐R scores were significantly different between the groups; scores were significantly higher for the CST group than the control group. The groups differed significantly in the proportion of subjects whose score increased by more than four points on the HDS‐R (Fisher's exact test, P < 0.05; 8 patients (25.8%) in the CST group and none (0.0%) in the control group). Conclusions: These results suggest that CST is one of the important non‐pharmacological treatment strategies for patients with AD.