Comparison of the Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Short-Term Cognitive Rehabilitation Protocols on the Improvement of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Patients With Mild Alzheimer's Disease.

Abstract

Aim: Today, Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common diseases, especially in old age, and it is important to help recognize and treat this disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and short-term cognitive rehabilitation protocols on the improvement of depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Methods: The research method was an extended experiment with two experimental groups and one control group. The statistical population included all patients over 65 years of age with mild Alzheimer's who had been referred to a neurologist in 2020, and among these people, 60 people were selected through available sampling and then randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. Then, the independent variables of the tDCS method for 10 sessions of 20 min once a week were applied to an experimental group and a short-term cognitive rehabilitation program of 9 sessions (90 min each session) was applied once a week to the second experimental group, and no intervention was performed on the third group. After the end of the intervention, the post-test was conducted with an interval of 1 week on the experimental and control groups. After 1 month, the studied groups were followed up again. A neuropsychological questionnaire (NPI) was used to collect information. Results: The results showed that both studied methods caused a significant reduction in depression in both the post-test and follow-up periods, but only the tDCS method was able to maintain its reduction in the follow-up period. Also, both methods have caused a significant improvement in the anxiety variable both during the post-test and during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that both methods can be used to improve the symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.