Dementia is a general term for a series of medical conditions that affect the brain and evolve progressively. According to the literature, there are over 200 subtypes and causes of dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most common in elderly people. AD is an irreversible progressive neurodegenerative condition that leads to a decline in mental function, enough to disrupt daily life. Thinking skills slowly deteriorate, which, in advanced stages, makes it impossible to perform simple tasks. Besides the change in the quality of life of AD patients and their families, there is a considerable alteration in the quality of life of their caregivers, whose health can be negatively affected by the development of mental and somatic disorders.
Alternative Therapy |
Diseases or Neurological Disorder | Effects on Patients | Effects on Caregivers | Reference |
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N/A | ||||
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Study First Author, Year | Design | Study Focus | Intervention Type | Duration | Outcomes Measures | ||||||
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Intervention Type | Duration | Outcomes Measures | |||||||||
Group music program | Mild-moderate dementia | ||||||||||
Cooke M.L., 2010 [17] | Increased verbalization behavior No significant effect on agitation and anxiety |
N/A | Cooke M.L., 2010 [ | Randomized cross-over controlled study17] | |||||||
Dementia | Experimental group: music therapy interventions (listening) | 40 min, three mornings a week for eight weeks | CMAI-SF, RAID | Music or conversation interventions | Dementia | Improvement in speech content and fluency after music sessions | N/A | ||||
Brotons M, 2000 [18] | Randomized controlled trial | Alzheimer’s and related disordersBrotons M, 2000 [18] | |||||||||
Music therapy vs. conversation sessions | Twice per week for 20–30 min for a total of 8 sessions | MMSE, WAB, AQ | Reminiscence therapy (including music) | Dementia Alzheimer’s disease |
Evaluation of ADAS-Cog, CSDD, NPI, Barthel IndexDementia | Icreased mood and level of consciousness | N/A | Schreiner, A.S., 2005 [ | |||
N/A | Hattori H., 2011 [ | 43 | 24] | ||||||||
] | |||||||||||
Visual art training | Dementia | Musical therapy | |||||||||
Hattori H., 2011 [43] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease | |||||||||
Moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease | |||||||||||
Art therapy and control (learning therapy using calculation) groups | N/A | Li, M., 2017 [19]Li, M., 2017 [ | Randomized controlled trial19] | ||||||||
Dementia, | Alzheimer’s disease |
Reminiscence therapy (including musical therapy) | 35 to 45 min, 2 times/week for 12 consecutive weeks | ADAS-Cog, CSDD, NPI, Barthel Index | Home therapeutic recreation intervention | ||||||
Reduced agitation and anxiety | |||||||||||
Fitzsimmons, S., Buettner, L.L., 2002 [20] | Quasi-experimental study | Dementia and disturbing behaviors | Individualized recreational therapy interventions | Two weeks of daily, individualized recreational therapy interventions (TRIs) | MMSE, CMAI, Passivity in Dementia Scale | N/A | Svansdottir HB, Snaedal J., 2006 [25] | ||||
Once weekly for 12 weeks | MMSE, QOL, Apathy Scale | No quantitative benefits on overall cognition, working memory, or delayed recall | N/A | Johnson K.G., 2020 [44] | |||||||
Johnson K.G., 2020 [44] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Visual art training | 1 h/day, 2 days/week, 8 weeks, 16 sessions | MoCA, Backward digit span task | Art activity | |||||
Flatt, J.D., 2015 [Early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or related cognitive disorders (ADRD) | 45Cognitive stimulation, social connections, improved self-esteem | ] | Randomized controlled trial | Early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or related cognitive disordersSocial and cultural experience | Experimental group: art museum engagement activityFlatt, J.D., 2015 [45] | ||||||
Four art engagement activity sessions | Satisfaction survey | Art therapyDementia Agitation Passive behavior |
Reduced disturbing behaviors | Respite period communication, emotional support |
Fitzsimmons, S.; Buettner, L.L., 2002 [20] | ||||||
Calming music, hand massage | Dementia | Reduced agitation | N/A | Remington, R., 2002 [21] | |||||||
Quasi-experimental design study | Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease |
Art-based intervention | 14 sessions | ADAS-Cog, QOL, NPI | Music therapy | Dementia Depression Cortisol Levels |
Reduced depression Improved shot-term recall function |
N/A | Chu H., 2014 [30] | ||
Musical therapy | Dementia | Cognition, psychiatric symptoms, Daily activities |
N/A | Lyu J., 2018 [31] | |||||||
Remington, R., 2002 [21] | Randomized cross-over controlled study | Dementia, Agitated behavior |
Experimental | 10 min exposure to either calming music, hand massage, or calming music and hand massage simultaneously | CMAI, Ward Behavior Inventory, Confusion Inventory |
Music-based exercises | Moderate or severe dementia | Improvement in cognition | N/A | Van de Winckel A., 2004 [22] | |
Van de Winckel A., 2004 [22] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Experimental | 3 months of daily physical exercises supported by music for 30 min/session | MMSE, ADS 6, BOP Scale | Group music with movement intervention | Music therapy | Dementia | |||
Sung, H., 2006 [23] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Decreased agitation disruptiveness and psychotopic medication | N/A | Ridder H.M., 2013 [32] | ||||||
Experimental group receiving group music with movement intervention | |||||||||||
Eekelaar, C., 2012 [Dementia | 46Improvement in episodic memory and fluency, improved mood, confidence, and reduced isolation | Shared experience, support | ]Eekelaar, C., 2012 [46] | ||||||||
Exploratory study | Dementia | Art therapy | Art-based interventions | Dementia | Improvement in general cognition and functioning | Mutual support network, active involvement in group activity | Savazzi F., 2020 [47] | Dementia | Decreased in agitated behaviours | N/A | Sung, H., 2006 [23] |
30 min, twice a week for 4 weeks | Recreational activities (including musical therapy) | Music therapy Recreational activities |
Dementia | Short-term decrease in agitation | N/A | Vink A.C., 2012 [33] | |||||
Modified CMAI, Likert Scale | |||||||||||
Schreiner, A.S., 2005 [24] | Randomized control trial | Dementia Alzheimer’s | Structured observation | Structured recreation activities (including musical therapy) | Philadelphia Geriatric Centre Affect Rating Scale, MMSE | ||||||
Svansdottir H.B., Snaedal J., 2006 [25] | Case-control study | Moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease | Experimental group: music therapy interventions | 18 sessions of music therapy, each lasting 30 min, three times a week for 6 weeks | BEHAVE-AD | ||||||
Chu H., 2014 [30] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia, Depression |
Experimental group: music therapy interventions (listening, singing, playing instruments) | 30 min sessions/twice a week, 6 weeks | CSDD | Lyu J, 2018 [31] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Experimental group: music therapy interventions (listening, reading, singing) | 30–40 min, twice a day for three months | MMSE, WHO-UCLA AVLT verbal fluency test, NPI, and Barthel Index |
Ridder H.M., 2013 [32] | Randomized control study | Dementia, Agitation |
Experimental group: music therapy interventions (listening, singing, dancing) | On average, 12 sessions of 33.8 min | CMAI, ADRQL, MMSE |
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Vink A.C., 2012 [33] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Experimental group: music therapy interventions (listening, singing, dancing, playing an instrument) | 34 sessions, 40 min on average for 4 months | CMAI, GDS | Music therapy (ML) Kirtan Kriya meditation (KK) |
Dementia Cognitive decline Telomere length (TL), telomerase activity (TA), and plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) levels |
KK group increases Aβ40, improvement in cognitive and psychosocial status, improvements in stress, mood, QOL | N/A | Innes K.E., 2018 [40] | |
Innes K.E., 2018 [40] | Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Kirtan Kriya meditation vs. music listening program | 12-week, 12 min/day | Telomere length (TL), telomerase activity (TA), and plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) levels, QOL | Music-based therapeutic interventions | |||||
van der Steen J.T., 2017 [41Dementia | ]Low improvement in depressive symptoms, QOL No improvement in agitation or behavioral disorder |
Randomized controlled trial | Dementia | Music-based therapeutic interventions | N/A | Emotional well-being and quality of life |
Alternative Therapy |
Diseases or Neurological Disorder | Effects on Patients | Effects on Caregivers | Reference |
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Study First Author, Year | Design | Study Focus |
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Art therapy vs. calculus | Mild Alzheimer’s disease | Improved QOL and vitality |
Viewing of paintings in a public art gallery, followed by an art-making visual response | ||
MMSE, Semi-structured Interview | ||
Savazzi F., 2020 [47] |