Effects of the online computerized cognitive training program BEYNEX on the cognitive tests of individuals with subjective cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease on rivastigmine therapy

Abstract

Background/aim: Clinical trials conducted on the efficacy of computerized cognitive training (CCT) programs have not led toany important breakthroughs. CCT is a safe and inexpensive approach, but its efficacy in patients on rivastigmine therapy has notbeen evaluated. This study aims to compare effects of CCT and examines rivastigmine to determine whether CCT has any furthercontributions to make.Materials and methods: Sixty individuals with subjective memory complaint (SCI) and 60 individuals with early stage Alzheimer’sdementia (AD) were subjected to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Cambridge Cognition (CANTAB tests: MOT, PRM,DMS, SWM, PAL, RTI), and Bayer-ADL. After screening patients who were diagnosed with AD, we started rivastigmine patch treatment(10 cm2 = 9.5 mg). The SCI and AD groups were randomly divided, and one each of the SCI and AD groups were accessed usingBEYNEX, a web-based program. After a minimum of at least 1200 min of use, the diagnostic tests were repeated.Results: The AD groups’ MoCA scores of the BEYNEX-practicing group demonstrated meaningfully increase, whereas they decreasedin the control group, and the Bayer-ADL scores indicated improvement in ADL. The CANTAB tests both in SCI and AD and in groupsusing BEYNEX showed positive improvement in MOT, DMS, and PAL data.Conclusion: This study is a rare example that focuses on both groups with SCI and AD. The efficacy of CCT varies across cognitivedomains and shows significant efficacy for AD but small improvements in cognitively healthy older adults. In future studies, integrationwith a smart learning algorithm may lead to interesting observations on which parameters are more sensitive to change under long-termuse of CCT in a large number of subjects.