Effectiveness of telerehabilitation plus virtual reality (Tele-RV) in cognitive e social functioning: A randomized clinical study on Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine could represent an emerging and innovative approach to support cognitive and behavioral rehabilitation reducing the overload of healthcare facilities, favoring home care therapy. The present study aimed to assess the potential efficacy of Tele-VR apps in enhancing cognitive performance and improving social skills in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODS: Thirty-four patients with PD were included in the study. Patients were assigned to one of the following treatment groups: Experimental Group 1 (EG1) underwent a Tele-VR program using two cognitive rehabilitation applications (app) on smartphones (Neuronation-Brain Training and Train your Brain); Experimental Group 2 (EG2) received a Tele-VR program through one cognitive rehabilitation app (Neuronation-Brain Training) and one socio-cognitive rehabilitation App (The Sims) on smartphones; Active Control Group (aCG) performed a conventional training using pencil and paper exercises (Not-VR).

RESULTS: At the end of the study, the aCG and EG1 presented an improvement in the executive, attentional and visuospatial cognitive domains. Mood and subjective memory also improved in the EG1. Moreover, in the EG2 group, a significant improvement was found in all cognitive domains, including social cognition skills (theory of mind). The inter-group comparison showed that both EG1 and EG2 had significantly greater improvements than aCG in MoCA score. Finally, both EG1 and EG2 showed a higher improvement in the FAB score, as compared to the aCG.

CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation with smartphone apps could be more useful than conventional rehabilitation in improving cognitive and social cognition skills in patients with PD. Combining cognitive and social cognition training could improve the cognitive and affective domains, also aiding in the long-term maintenance of cognitive outcomes.