***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Background : Evidence as to the benefits of nonpharmacological interventions for the boundary state between normal aging and dementia [ mild cognitive impairment or a Clinical Dementia Rating ( CDR ) of 0.5 ] remains weak due to a lack of positive controls . Aims : To directly compare the effects of cognitive interventions ( CI ) , physical activities ( PA ) and a group reminiscence approach ( GRA ) , we conducted a pilot study on the basis of a cluster r and omized controlled trial design . Method : A total of 127 participants aged > 74 years with a CDR of 0.5 were cluster r and omized into three groups for CI , PA and GRA . The intervention lasted 12 weeks and consisted of weekly group sessions and home assignments . Mini-Mental State Examination ( MMSE ) , Trail Making Test part A ( TMT-A ) , word fluency ( WF ) , 6-meter walk time and Quality of Life ( QOL ) Face Scale scores were evaluated as primary outcomes . Results : Methodology -related benefits of CI and PA were found for MMSE scores and walk time , respectively . TMT-A , WF and QOL Face Scale scores improved irrespective of the method ologies used . Conclusions : Our findings suggest that CI and PA may be beneficial to cognitive and physical abilities , respectively . Executive functions and QOL may improve irrespective of the intervention method ologies used Aim The authors investigated the prevalence of behavioural and psychological symptoms in vascular dementia ( VaD ) from baseline data of the VantagE study and compared the severity and relative frequency of symptoms between small-vessel VaD and large-vessel VaD. Methods Behavioural and psychological symptoms of 484 VaD patients included in a large multicentre clinical trial ( registration number NCT00099216 ) were determined using the 12-item Neuropsychiatric Inventory ( NPI ) . Symptoms were considered present when the score was ≥1 . Based on MRI , patients were classified as having small-vessel VaD ( 83 % ) or large-vessel VaD ( 17 % ) . Results Behavioural and psychological symptoms were reported in 92 % of the VaD patients . The median NPI score of the total study population was 9 ( 0–76 ) , with a median number of three symptoms per patient . Apathy ( 65 % ) was most prevalent , followed by depressive symptoms ( 45 % ) , irritability ( 42 % ) and agitation/aggression ( 40 % ) . Patients with small-vessel VaD reported more apathy , aberrant motor behaviour and hallucinations than patients with large-vessel VaD ( p<0.05 ) . In contrast , patients with large-vessel VaD reported a higher severity of agitation/aggression and euphoria ( p<0.05 ) . Conclusion Behavioural and psychological symptoms are common in VaD. Patients with small-vessel and large-vessel VaD demonstrate different profiles of symptoms , with especially more apathy in small-vessel VaD and more agitation/agression in large-vessel OBJECTIVE A single-blinded , parallel-groups ( intervention , active and passive control groups ) r and omized controlled trial ( RCT ) was chosen to investigate whether a specific reminiscence program is associated with higher levels of quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia . METHODS The intervention used a life-story approach , while the control groups participated in casual discussion s. The Social Engagement Scale ( SES ) and Self Reported Quality of Life Scale ( SRQoL ) were used as the outcome measures , which were examined at baseline ( T0 ) , 12 weeks ( T1 ) , and six months ( T2 ) after the intervention . The final sample had 135 subjects ( active control group = 45 ; passive control group = 45 ; intervention group = 45 ) . RESULTS The Wilcoxon test showed significant differences in the intervention group between T2 and T0 , and between T1 and T0 in the SES , and there were significant differences between T0 and T1 ( intervention effect size = 0.267 ) and T1 and T2 ( intervention effect size = 0.450 ) in the SRQoL. The univariate logistic regression scores showed that predictors of change in the SRQoL were associated with fewer baseline anxiety symptoms and lower depression scores . CONCLUSIONS The intervention led to significant differences between the three groups over time , showing a significant improvement in the quality of life and engagement of the residents in the intervention group We compared reality orientation with reminiscence therapy for elderly people in a large residential home , using a controlled cross-over design . Both kinds of therapy group were enjoyed by both staff and residents , and enabled staff to get to know moderately and severely confused residents . The group that received reality orientation followed by reminiscence therapy showed improvement in cognitive and behavioural measures which was not found in the other two groups . It may be important to use reality orientation techniques with confused residents before involving them in a reminiscence group Flaws in the design , conduct , analysis , and reporting of r and omised trials can cause the effect of an intervention to be underestimated or overestimated . The Cochrane Collaboration ’s tool for assessing risk of bias aims to make the process clearer and more R and omized controlled trials often suffer from two major complications , i.e. , noncompliance and missing outcomes . One potential solution to this problem is a statistical concept called intention-to-treat ( ITT ) analysis . ITT analysis includes every subject who is r and omized according to r and omized treatment assignment . It ignores noncompliance , protocol deviations , withdrawal , and anything that happens after r and omization . ITT analysis maintains prognostic balance generated from the original r and om treatment allocation . In ITT analysis , estimate of treatment effect is generally conservative . A better application of the ITT approach is possible if complete outcome data are available for all r and omized subjects . Per- protocol population is defined as a subset of the ITT population who completed the study without any major protocol violations Objectives : To evaluate the effect of different pathways for developing a life story book ( LSB ) for people with dementia . Method : Preliminary r and omised control trial ; 23 people with dementia in care homes ( mean age 86 ) r and omly assigned to receive either 12 individual life review sessions and co-creating a LSB or a personal LSB created by their relatives as a ‘ gift ’ Results : No difference in quality of life ( quality of life – Alzheimer 's disease ( QOL – AD ) ) was observed between the two groups , six weeks after having received the LSB ( F(1,20 ) = 0.08 , p = 0.77 ) . At this point , QOL – AD had improved for both groups , but there was a significant between-group difference at an intermediate assessment immediately after the life review sessions had been completed , before the LSBs were received ( F(1 , 20 ) = 5.11 , p = 0.035 ) , in favour of life review . A similar pattern was observed on autobiographical memory ( extended autobiographical memory interview ) , with the life review group improving significantly more than the gift group during the life review sessions , but no difference was observed once all participants had had their LSB for six weeks . After the LSBs were produced – by either pathway – quality of relationship as rated by relatives improved significantly ( F(2 , 39 ) = 19.37 , p < 0.001 ) and staff knowledge regarding the resident and attitudes to dementia improved . Conclusion : The creation of LSBs – either through a life review process or by relatives without involving the person with dementia – has benefits for people with dementia , relatives and staff in care homes . However , undertaking a life review requires training and supervision Objectives : The purpose of this pilot study was to conduct limited-efficacy testing of the newly developed Preserving Identity and Planning for Advance Care ( PIPAC ) intervention on self-reported and proxy-reported emotional and health-related outcomes of individuals in the early stages of dementia . Method : A two-group comparison design was implemented . Blocked r and omization was used to assign individuals with mild dementia and a family contact to either ( 1 ) the four-session , multi-component intervention group focused on reminiscence and future planning or ( 2 ) the minimal support phone contact comparison group . Of the 19 enrolled dyads , 18completed post-treatment assessment s ( i.e. 10 intervention and 8 comparison group ) . Individuals with dementia were M= 82.8 ( SD = 6.46 ) years old ; 31.6 % were men and 68.4 % were women . Participants were predominantly white/Caucasian ( n = 18 , 94.7 % ) with one black/African-American ( 5.3 % ) . Results : Analyses of covariance controlling for baseline differences revealed clinical ly meaningful differences ( with medium to large effect sizes ) between groups at post-treatment for depressive symptoms , quality of life , health-related quality of life indicators , and decisional conflict . Individuals in the intervention group were also observed to exhibit higher levels of coping . Feasibility data collected from participants and interventionists were encouraging . Conclusion : Emotion-focused , patient-centered interventions like PIPAC hold promise for advancing treatment options in the early and mild stages of dementia . A full-scale , r and omized clinical trial of this intervention is warranted to determine both short-term and long-term impacts on clinical outcomes including improved depressive symptomatology , quality of life , and health-related factors that impact daily functioning in social environments OBJECTIVE To examine effects of individual thematically-based reminiscence sessions based on the SolCos model for older adults with dementia because of Alzheimer disease ( AD ) as a pilot study . BACKGROUND Reminiscence activities are popular within nursing homes and generally considered to be enjoyable and helpful , however , there is a paucity of robust data demonstrating therapeutic impact . Criticisms of existing reminiscence studies include the failure to explicate the reminiscence protocol and to st and ardize delivery and choice of outcome measures . METHODS In this study , 82 older adults with probable AD were recruited from psychiatric day care , inpatient , and long term care facilities . Of the study group , 41 participants were r and omly selected for individual reminiscence sessions during 4 weeks performed by 1 facilitator . A control group of 41 older adults were r and omly involved and had no planned reminiscence treatment of any kind in the study period . All study participants were tested pre- and postintervention period with vali date d assessment scales to evaluate cognition and behavior . Analyses were based on delta scores , the differences between assessment scales pre- and postintervention scores , compared between the intervention and the control group . RESULTS A structured reminiscence protocol was developed with user involvement , and intervention group participants received 6 - 8 reminiscence sessions ( average 7.4 ) . The primary outcomes of Mini- Mental State Examination ( MMSE ) and Geriatric Depression Scale ( GDS-30 ) delta scores of the intervention group were significantly better than those of the control group . Participants of the intervention group with both mild and moderate AD had significantly better GDS-30 delta scores compared with the control group . Significantly better MMSE delta scores were found only in the intervention sub-group with moderate AD . Logistic regression analyses with all study participants showed an impact of reminiscence sessions on depressive symptoms measured with GDS-30 . CONCLUSIONS The pilot study results showed positive effects associated with individual thematically-based reminiscence on well-being such as depressive symptoms and cognition of participants . This is an encouraging finding after a relatively short period . Further study is necessary to confirm these results , determine sustainability and optimal delivery methods BACKGROUND Elderly people with cognitive impairments are often associated with depressed mood and are heavy consumers in both medical services and need in caregivers . Reminiscence is believed to be effective in improving the cognition and mood of demented people . OBJECTIVES This study tested the hypothesis that structured group reminiscence therapy can prevent the progression of cognitive impairment and enhance affective function in the cognitively impaired elderly . METHODS A r and omized controlled trial ( RCT ) based on a two group pre- and post-test design was used . The experimental subjects underwent eight group sessions , one session per week . The measurements were performed using Mini-Mental State Examination ( MMSE ) , Geriatric Depression Scale short form ( GDS-SF ) , and Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia ( CSDD ) . RESULTS The sample consisted of 102 subjects , with 51 in the experimental group and 51 in the control group . Results demonstrated that the intervention significantly affected cognitive function and affective function as measured by MMSE and CSDD ( p = 0.015 and 0.026 ) , indicating that the cognitive function of the experimental subjects increased and their depressive symptoms diminished following intervention . CONCLUSION Participation in reminiscence activities can be a positive and valuable experience for demented older persons . Consequently , the development of a structured care program for elderly persons with cognitive impairment and the need for long-term care is essential . Thus , health providers in long-term care facilities should be trained in reminiscence group therapy , and to be able to deliver such a program to the targeted group BACKGROUND There is increasing recognition of the potential use of reminiscence in maintaining or improving the quality of life  of people with dementia . Despite being used widely in dementia care , evidence on the effectiveness of reminiscence remains uncertain . AIMS This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured education-based reminiscence programme-the Dementia Education Programme Incorporating Reminiscence for Staff-for  people with dementia residing in long-stay care setting s in Irel and . METHODS Dementia Education Programme Incorporating Reminiscence for Staff is a two-group , single-blind , cluster r and omised trial conducted in long-stay residential care setting s in Irel and . The primary outcome was the self-rated quality of life of 
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Cohen 's d effect size for depression was -0.541 ( 95 % CI : -0.847 to -0.234 , Z = -3.730 , p<0.001 ) , indicating that depression was significantly reduced in the reminiscence group compared to the control group .
Increased quality of life and decreased BPSD were also found in the reminiscence group compared to the control group .
CONCLUSION Reminiscence therapy has a moderate effect on depression and can be broadly used to decrease depression as an alternative to antipsychotics , which can have harmful side effects and high cost