Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a new integrated rehabilitation program based on Mindfulness and Cognitive Training (MILC-tr) on cognitive functions and mood in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Background: Mindfulness-based programs have been observed to be effective on psychological distress in neurodegenerative disorders, but few studies to date have implemented mindfulness in the context of cognitive rehabilitation.

Method: A randomized study was conducted on a sample of 16 adults (aged 66-83) with a clinical diagnosis of MCI (n=7) or idiopathic PD (n=9). Participants were enrolled in two different rehabilitation training programs, MILC-tr or Cognitive Training alone (CR-tr), for 8 weekly sessions, 50 minutes each. We assessed each patient at T0 (before treatment) and T1 (after treatment) using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II).

Results: Verbal long-term memory (LTM) improved significantly after MILC-tr, compared to CR-tr (MILC-tr vs. CR.tr improvement [mean±SD] = 0.89±1.05 vs.  0.14±0.38, Z= 2.38, p= .017, r= .577). There were no significant differences between the two training programs in other MoCA sub-items and BDI-II score.

Conclusion: Mindfulness combined with Classical Cognitive Training may have a moderate effect on memory in patients with PD and MCI.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effectiveness-of-a-novel-cognitive-rehabilitation-program-based-on-mindfulness-and-reminiscence-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-and-mild-cognitive-impairment-a-pilot-study/