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Scientists aren’t absolutely sure what causes cell death and tissue loss in the Alzheimer's brain, but the plaques and tangles are prime suspects.

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Dementia is a broad category of symptoms that affect the brain and causes memory loss.

Early onset Alzheimer's

Although, Alzheimer’s is viewed as a disease of the elderly, up to 5% of Americans with Alzheimer’s have the early-onset variety, which can start to show symptoms as early as one’s 30s.

Showing posts with label Dementia care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dementia care. Show all posts

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Music may improve memory in dementia patients, study finds


Music may improve memory

Music is a powerful medium that moves us physically and mentally. It has the power to transport us back to an earlier time or give us a sense of dejavu. Music has always been known to enhance our mood, but a new study reports that music may help preserve and even enhance cognitive function in elderly patients with mild to moderate dementia.



The findings of the study, conducted by researchers from University of Helsinki, Finland, and published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, could lead to better dementia care for the elderly.

Lead author of the study Dr. Teppo Sarkamo, a specialist in cognitive brain research, behavioral science and music research said,

“Our findings suggest that musical leisure activities could be easily applied and widely used in dementia care and rehabilitation.”

For the study, the researchers looked at the effects of musical coachingto 89 patients with mild to moderate dementia when they joined the 10-week intervention along with their caregivers. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Factors such as, participants’ age, dementia severity, care situation, and previous musical experience were taken into account.


The first group of pairs went through 10 weeks of singing, the second group of pairs focused only on listening to music and the third group acted as a control group, which involved standard care only.

Evaluations taken after 9 months into the trial showed that memory, executive function, orientation and mood already improved in the groups receiving musical coaching compared with the control group. Executive function helps us focus attention, plan, remember and manage several tasks at the same time.


musical keyboard

The researchers also discovered that patients with mild dementia and below 80 years old benefited the most for memory, executive function and orientation by singing. For the patients with more advanced form of dementia, music listening led to the most cognitive enhancements.

Furthermore, singing and music listening also relieved depression for patients with mild Alzheimer's-type dementia, compared with the control group receiving standard care.

Another interesting fact noted by the researchers was that the patients’ musical background made no difference in the results.

Researchers advise that patients with dementia shouldengage in musical activities during the early stages of the disorder. Dr. Sarkamo even advises patients that they should be encouraged by their caregivers to sing regularly or join a community choir.


“Given the increasing global prevalence and burden of dementia and the limited resources in public health care for persons with dementia and their family caregivers, it is important to find alternative ways to maintain and stimulate cognitive, emotional and social well-being in this population.” said Dr. Sarkamo.

“Especially stimulating and engaging activities, such as singing, seem to be very promising for maintaining memory functioning in the early stages of dementia.”

“In the later stages of dementia when the cognitive deficits are more severe, music listening could be a more easily applicable way,” Sarkamo concluded.