Transcript Music therapy in moderate and severe dementia of Alzheimer

Music therapy in moderate and
severe dementia of Alzheimer’s
type: a case-control study
H.B. Svansdottir and J. Snaedal
Geriatric Department, Landspitali University
Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
Introduction
Some key terms!
• Music therapy
• Alzheimer’s disease OR Senile Dementia of the
Alzheimer’s type
• BEHAVE-AD = Behaviour Pathology in Alzheimer’s
Disease Rating Scale
• BPSD = Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms
of Dementia
• ICD-10 = International Classification of Diseases
• Global Deterioration Scale
• Case-control study
Methods
• Initial (n = 47)  Music therapy group (n = 20)
 Control group (n = 18)
• Control Group
– No change in care, evaluated at same time as MT group
• Music Therapy Group
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30 minute sessions: 3x/week for 6 weeks
Evaluation of symptoms via BEHAVE-AD scale
Following 4 weeks – NO therapy
Evaluation of symptoms via BEHAVE-AD scale
Results
Combined symptoms
•Aggressiveness, *activity
disturbance + anxiety
Activity disturbance alone
Discussion
• Strengths
– Comparability of groups
• Limitations
• Qualitative benefits of music therapy
– Patient
– Nursing home staff
• Other studies
• Other factors
Conclusion
• Music therapy is a safe and effective method
for treating agitation and anxiety in
moderately severe and severe AD
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Thoughts...
Combination of music and drug therapy...
Different types of music? Music therapy?
Longer research period...
Longer music therapy sessions
More frequent music therapy sessions
MT have stronger effects in certain
cultures?
Thanks for listening!
Questions/comments welcome.
Please see: http://www.musictherapy.ca/musictherapy.htm for more
information on this topic and what music therapy is being used for!
Abstract
Background: Music therapy is a potential non-pharmacological treatment for the
behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, but although some studies
have found it to be helpful, most are small and uncontrolled.
Methods: This case–control study was carried out by qualified music therapists
in two nursing homes and two psychogeriatric wards. The participants were 38
patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) assigned randomly
to a music therapy group and a control group.
Results: The study showed a significant reduction in activity disturbances in
the music therapy group during a 6-week period measured with the Behavior
Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease Rating Scale (BEHAVE-AD). There was also a
significant reduction in the sum of scores of activity disturbances, aggressiveness
and anxiety. Other symptoms rated by subscales of the BEHAVE-AD did not
decrease significantly. Four weeks later the effects had mostly disappeared.
Conclusions: Music therapy is a safe and effective method for treating agitation
and anxiety in moderately severe and severe AD. This is in line with the results
of some non-controlled studies on music therapy in dementia.