Cognitive Stimulation Therapy

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• Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) 27th International Conference

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Ongoing Benefit With Cognitive Stimulation Therapy

Becky McCall

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 March 16, 2012 (London, United Kingdom) — Maintenance cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) for up to 6 months shows an improvement in cognitive functioning and a significant increase in quality of life in people with dementia, according to findings presented at the Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) 27th International Conference.

Aimee Spector, PhD, senior lecturer at University College London (UCL), United Kingdom, presented the results with her colleague and doctoral student, Elisa Aguirre, BSc, also from UCL. Data are pending publication in a peer-reviewed journal, so the researchers could not reveal fine detail at this stage, but Dr. Spector commented on the findings.

"Initial analysis suggests that quality of life as rated by people with dementia and their caregivers continued to increase significantly over 6 months," reported Dr. Spector, who designed the initial CST program in 1999-2001. "Results relating to improvement of cognition also showed a continued increase but this was less significant than the improvement in quality of life./.../
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