People with Dementia Can Learn Compensatory Movement Maneuvers for the Sit-to-Stand Task: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: A complex motor skill highly relevant to mobility in everyday life (e.g., sit-to-stand [STS] transfer) has not yet been addressed in studies on motor learning in people with dementia (PwD).

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a dementia-specific motor learning exercise program enables PwD to learn compensatory STS maneuvers commonly taught in geriatric rehabilitation therapy to enhance patients' STS ability.

METHODS: Ninety-seven patients with mild-to-moderate dementia (Mini-Mental State Examination: 21.9±2.9 points) participated in a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with 10-week intervention and 3-month follow-up period. The intervention group (IG, n = 51) underwent a motor learning exercise program on compensatory STS maneuvers specifically designed for PwD. The control group (CG, n = 46) performed a low-intensity motor placebo activity. Primary outcomes were scores of the Assessment of Compensatory Sit-to-stand Maneuvers in People with Dementia (ACSID), which covers the number of recalled and initiated, and of effectively performed compensatory STS maneuvers. Secondary outcomes included temporal and kinematic STS characteristics measured by a body-fixed motion sensor (BFS, DynaPort® Hybrid).

RESULTS: The IG significantly improved in all ACSID scores compared to the CG (p < 0.001). Secondary analysis confirmed learning effects for all BFS-based outcomes (p < 0.001-0.006). Learning gains were sustained during follow-up for most outcomes.

CONCLUSION: People with mild-to-moderate dementia can learn and retain compensatory STS maneuvers in response to a dementia-specific motor learning exercise program. This is the first study that demonstrated preserved motor learning abilities in PwD by using a motor skill highly relevant to everyday life.