Improvements in Cognition and a Decrease in Symptom Count and Severity Score after Neurological Rehabilitation for a 67-year-old Male Patient with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Presentation: A 67-year-old male patient presented to Plasticity Brain Centers for evaluation and treatment of mild cognitive impairment with the following symptomology: memory loss, fatigue, and frustration.

Findings: When asked to rate his symptoms on a graded symptom checklist (GSC) (Simon 2017), he reported a score of 62 with a symptom count of 20. He was unable to complete the digit symbol matching test in the allotted time of 120 seconds, thus giving him a score of 0.

Methods: A 5-day, multi-modal program of neurological exercises was administered in 10 one-hour treatment sessions (Carrick 2017). Each session consisted of repetitive peripheral somatosensory stimuli, neuromuscular reeducation exercises, vestibular rehabilitation exercises, cognitive exercises, orthoptic exercises, and off-vertical axis rotation (Gdowski 1999) utilizing a multi-axis rotational chair (MARC).

Outcome: Upon exit examination, his symptom severity score was 10 (-83.871%) with a symptom count of 10 (-50.00%). He was able to complete the digit symbol matching test with an increased score of 39 (+100%) in the allotted 120 seconds.

Conclusion: The authors suggest further investigation into multi-modal, intensive approaches to increase cognition and decrease symptom count and severity in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

References:

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2. Gdowski GT, McCrea RA. Integration of vestibular and head movement signals in the vestibular nuclei during whole-body rotation. J Neurophysiol (1999) 82:436–49
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