Complementary and alternative medicine in relation to the behavioural and psychological symptoms in people with dementia: A systematic review

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to assess the efficacy of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in people with dementia with behavioural and psychological symptoms. A literature search was undertaken. Three databases, Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO were searched. Only peer-reviewed journal articles in English published in 1990s or later with clinic trials for humans were included in the current review. Randomized clinical trials or studies with control groups employing five following complementary and alternative therapies (Acupuncture/Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Massage, BLT, and TENS) for managing BPSD in people with dementia were included in our systematic review. In the review 565 related studies were identified, where 30 RCTs or studies with control group met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. 22 studies of which 17 were RCTs, out of the total 30 studies selected and analysed in this work have demonstrated effectiveness of CAM. In conclusion, dementia as a medical problem currently can not be cured, but the symptoms of dementia and the quality of life of patients with dementia can be improved by different therapies. Although not all studies demonstrated consist statistic significant improvement, there were obviously benefited evidences or positive trend from CAM. More research, however, is needed to provide definitive evidence about the benefits of CAM.