Dementia can be stopped by MAKS therapy

New therapy delays dementia better than medication

04/12/2011

Today, dementia has reached the status of a widespread disease in Germany with approximately 1.3 million people affected. Patients suffer increasingly from confusion and forgetfulness in the course of the disease, although their independence and personality are rapidly dwindling. In the final stage, patients with dementia are dependent on care around the clock because they can no longer manage their daily lives alone.

There are no prospects of curing dementia despite intensive research to date. By taking medications, only the course of the disease can be significantly delayed. For example, the conventional medical treatment of dementia usually relies on the administration of drugs such as so-called cholinesterase inhibitors in order to gain a little more time in the patients' minds, in which they can live longer. Now scientists of the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen report in the trade magazine, „BMC Medicine“ a new program that can significantly reduce the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease compared to previous treatment approaches.

Group therapy works better than medication
The researchers at the Friedrich Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, led by study leader Professor Elmar Gräßel, tested the so-called MAKS program in numerous residents with signs of dementia in Bavarian nursing homes. The 129 study participants were subdivided into two groups of equal size, half of whom were treated with conventional drug-based dementia therapy and the other older people who completed the MAKS program. In order to determine the state of mind of the subjects, the researchers around Prof. Gräßel tested in advance, during and after the treatment, the memory and the practical skills of the elderly. In addition, the nurses assessed the general condition of the elderly. The treatment of the neurodegenerative disease with the help of the MAKS program showed significantly better results than the use of the drugs, so the statement of Prof. Gräßel and colleagues.

Four pillars of the MAKS program against dementia
The MAKS program for the therapeutic treatment of Alzheimer's and dementia is based on four different pillars, which complement each other positively and thus should significantly delay dementia. Six days a week, dementia patients participated in special two-hour group therapies that included motor stimulation (M), everyday activities (A), cognitive stimulation (K), and spiritual stimulation (S), six days a week. stood in the foreground. Motor stimulation is to be understood as meaning equilibrium exercises that are trained by physical exercise. For example, dementia patients go bowling together. In everyday activities, group therapy focused on activities such as cooking, crafting or gardening. The cognitive stimulation was done, for example, by puzzles or puzzles. The spiritual stimulation included at least ten minutes daily in which patients discussed topics such as happiness and sang songs together.

Dementia delayed by at least one year
According to the researchers of the University of Erlangen, the 12-month MAKS therapy showed clear advantages compared to the drug treatment. Thus, the brain performance in the study participants of the MAKS group did not decrease further, while the performance of the control group on the Alzheimers Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) was evaluated significantly worse after one year of study. The MAKS patients also coped significantly better in everyday life than the other subjects, according to Prof. Gräßle and colleagues. In order to provide an objective assessment, the controls after six and twelve months of study did not disclose whether the subjects belonged to the MAKS group or not. In the subsequent analysis, however, the researchers found that the study participants in the control group had significantly reduced, especially in the second half of the study, while the memory performance in the MAKS group remained virtually unchanged. In addition, not only had the cognitive abilities of the MAKS patients been kept constant, but also the mood of the elderly had increased and their social behavior had improved, explained Prof. Gräßel.

According to the study leader, the effects achieved with the MAKS therapy have also surpassed the most effective Alzheimer's and dementia drugs to date. For example, the MAKS therapy delayed the course of dementia by at least twelve months, whereas with the help of the drugs, only a delay of six months could be expected, the researchers of the University of Erlangen explained. Possibly the MAKS program will work even longer, but this has yet to be investigated in upcoming studies, concludes Prof. Gräßel and colleagues. (Fp)

Read about:
Dementia: A growing social problem
World Alzheimer's Day: Experts warn against dementia
Dementia becomes a common disease
Age dementia in Germany on the rise
Dementia and Alzheimer's
Dementia: holistic treatment approach
Overmedication of dementia patients

Picture: Gerd Altmann