Treatment of Language and Memory in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease

Patients with dementia suffer from a variety of cognitive-linguistic deficits, including attention, orientation, memory, anomia, and pragmatics. Behavioral treatment of these deficits falls within the domain of speech-language pathology. While no efficacy studies have emerged to demonstrate the benefit of speech-language therapy for individuals who suffer Alzheimer's disease (AD), data are emerging which support the positive effects of memory and communication intervention in this population. Phase I and Phase II investigations are beginning to provide evidence that such intervention should focus on the development of innovative strategies to help patients compensate for the disabilities resulting from the disease rather than on traditional rehabilitation of impairment. The benefits of cholinesterase inhibitors for improving cognitive function in persons with AD have been demonstrated, and data continue to emerge on specific drugs and specific changes in cognitive processes. The purpose of the proposed investigation would be to collect pilot data on the effects of behavioral intervention for memory and communication deficits in conjunction with cholinesterase inhibitors, as compared with the effects of cholinesterase inhibitors used in isolation. Participants will be individuals with AD who are recruited from the Alzheimer's Disease Center at The University of Arkasas for Medical Sciences Medical Center. All participants will be taking cholinesterase inhibitors, and half of all participants will be randomly selected to receive intervention by a speech-language pathologist. Intervention will consist of 16 treatment sessions (one hour each) over a two month period and will focus on strategies for enhancing memory and functional communication.