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Goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation for people with early-stage Alzheimer disease: a single-blind randomized controlled trial of clinical efficacy
Clare L, Linden DE, Woods RT, Whitaker R, Evans SJ, Parkinson CH, van Paasschen J, Nelis SM et al.. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2010-10-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objectives To provide evidence regarding the clinical efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation (CR) in early-stage Alzheimer disease (AD). Design Single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing CR with relaxation therapy and no treatment. Setting Outpatient, community-based setting. Participants Sixty-nine individuals (41 women, 28 men; mean age 77.78 years, standard deviation 6.32, range = 56-89) with a diagnosis of AD or mixed AD and vascular dementia and a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 18 or above, and receiving a stable dose of acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting medication. Forty-four family carers also contributed. Intervention Eight weekly individual sessions of CR consisting of personalized interventions to address individually relevant goals supported by components addressing practical aids and strategies, techniques for learning new information, practice in maintaining attention and concentration, and techniques for stress management. Measurements The primary outcomes were goal performance and satisfaction, assessed using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. Questionnaires assessing mood, quality of life and career strain, and a brief neuropsychological test battery were also administered. A subset of participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results CR produced significant improvement in ratings of goal performance and satisfaction, whereas scores in the other two groups did not change. Behavioral changes in the CR group were supported by fMRI data for a subset of participants. Conclusions The findings support the clinical efficacy of CR in early-stage AD. CR offers a means of assisting people with early-stage AD and their families in managing the effects of the condition.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Clare, L., Linden, D. E., Woods, R. T., Whitaker, R., Evans, S. J., Parkinson, C. H., et al. (2010). Goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation for people with early-stage Alzheimer disease: a single-blind randomized controlled trial of clinical efficacy. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181d5792a
Vancouver
Clare L, Linden DE, Woods RT, Whitaker R, Evans SJ, Parkinson CH, et al. Goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation for people with early-stage Alzheimer disease: a single-blind randomized controlled trial of clinical efficacy. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. 2010. doi:10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181d5792a. PMID: 20808145.
BibTeX
@article{clare2010-20808145,
author = {Clare, L. and Linden, D. E. and Woods, R. T. and Whitaker, R. and Evans, S. J. and Parkinson, C. H. and van Paasschen, J. and Nelis, S. M. and others},
title = {{Goal-oriented cognitive rehabilitation for people with early-stage Alzheimer disease: a single-blind randomized controlled trial of clinical efficacy}},
journal = {The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181d5792a},
pmid = {20808145},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181d5792a}
}
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Key findings
- Results CR produced significant improvement in ratings of goal performance and satisfaction, whereas scores in the other two groups did not change.
Why it matters
In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, cognitive rehabilitation significantly improved ratings of goal performance and satisfaction in people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, while the other two groups did not change. This is a nonpharmacological approach to helping with individually relevant goals, not a treatment that changes the disease course.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: journal h-index 178 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 293 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.3 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 42 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Michael D. Rugg: h-index 102 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of California, Irvine: institution h-index 1,195 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20808145) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
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