Evidem-Exercise: Exercise As A Therapy For Psychological Symptoms Of Dementia

The objective of the EVIDEM-EXERCISE study was to evaluatethe effectiveness of an exercise regime as a therapy for the behaviouraland psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). A pragmatic, ran-domized, controlled, single-blind, parallel-group trial of a dyadic exer-cise regime (tailored walking) for community-dwelling individuals withBPSD and their carers was undertaken. The primary outcome wasBehavioural and Psychological Symptoms as measured by the Neuro-Psychiatric Inventory at week 12. Results show no significant differ-ence of NPI score at week 12 between the group receiving the dyadicexercise regime and those that did not. Secondary outcome measure ofcaregiver’s burden was significantly improved; caregiver burden dou-bled by week 12 for the control group participants, but decreased forthose receiving the exercise intervention. In conclusion, this study foundthat regular simple exercise does not improve BPSD but did seem toattenuate changes of caregiver burden.