The Effectiveness of Global Postural Reeducation on Alzheimer Disease Patients

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This research study is developed on an experimental design with randomized controlled intervention were participated 135 subjects with AD including 45 of the control group. It lasted 6 months with pre-post tests (T0-T1) executed before and after six months of treatment. By having in focus the evaluation of GPR therapy effects on cognitive, proprioceptive, depressive, autonomy, gait and life quality of the above mentioned subjects.

Detailed Description
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In order to assess the cognitive abilities of the patients a cognitive test was administered which acts through a scale concerning depression and mood evaluation as well as a questionnaire was developed aiming to evaluate the examined subjects' functional abilities: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Quality of Life in Alzheimer Disease (QoL-AD), geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Barthel Index (BI), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Tinetti Scale (TS).

Official Title
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The Effectiveness of Physical Rehabilitation in the Enhancement of Proprioceptive and Cognitive Aspects on Alzheimer Disease Patients

Conditions
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Alzheimer's Type Dementia, Cognitive Decline, Postural; Strain

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: GPR Intervention Research group


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease Older than 40 years of age Male and female Intellectual disability Cognitive impairment Able to do daily activities on his own No presence of any other neurological and psychological disease No presence of brain tumors Exclusion Criteria: No presence of Alzheimer's Disease Under 40 years old Presence of brain tumors Neurological patients Presence of psychiatric disease Depression symptoms Presence of neuromuscular disease Ictus Aggressive patients

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 40 Years
Maximum Age: 95 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Randomized Controlled Trial
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: GPR Intervention Research group<br>A total of 135 subjects with AD in the mild or moderate phase participated in the study from which 90 pertain to research group.The intervention implemented to the patients with AD was the Global Postural therapy which lasted about 30-40 min in repeated sessions of 2 meetings per week by making 48 sessions in total during a six month period. | Other: GPR Intervention Research group<br>* The research intervention consisted in the reappointment of three GPR therapeutic postures.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control Group<br>45 subjects of the study belongs to the control group which has not received the same treatment . | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cognitive Abilities Measurement | The therapeutist provides the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale records. The evaluation consits in a 0-30 points-scale. Lower scores imply the severity of dementia. | Change from baseline cognitive evaluation at 6'th month | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease (QoL-AD) Questionnaire | The therapeutist measures in the begining and in the end of the study the quality of life in patients with Alzheimer's disease (QoL-AD). This questionnaire consists in 13 elements referring to the perception that patients have concerning various aspects of their life: mood, health, cognition, environment and functional capacity. The range of scores is 13-52, were higher scores indicate a better life quality. | Change from baseline cognitive evaluation at 6'th month | 
| Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) Questionnaire | The version of 15 articles was used, which given its length can be validly and reliably resolved by patients themselves in the quality of a self-report questionnaire aiming to investigate the possible presence of depressive symptoms. | Change from baseline cognitive evaluation at 6'th month | 
| Barthel Index (BI) | This scale is used by therapist to measure the performance in the basic activities of daily life of AD patients. The maximum score used is 100 points and refers to the patient's independence in all basic daily living activities. | Change from baseline cognitive evaluation at 6'th month | 
| Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) | This test includes 12 symptoms scored according to the phenomenon severity and frequency. It is a helpful instrument for the therapist because of specifically designed for the assessment of psycho-behavioral disorders in individuals with cognitive impairment. | Change from baseline cognitive evaluation at 6'th month | 
| Tinetti Scale (TS) | The therapist used the equilibrium sub-scale, which consists in 7 elements and has a score between 0 and 13. Highest scores indicate a better balance. | Change from baseline cognitive evaluation at 6'th month |