clock drawing by patient with #Parkinsons-Disease | Figure 1

Why you should join Figure 1

New From Urban Health Today: A personal view published in The Lancet synthesizes current evidence on cognitive symptoms during the menopause transition, proposes a working clinical definition, outlines contributing factors, and identifies the most critical research gaps. Discuss with your colleagues below and read the full article.

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease tend to be less aware of their own cognitive deficits as the disease progresses.

GSW to head. External and soft tissue bullets removed on day 1. Second picture taken a day later.

Review Question

Our aim was to review the evidence about the effect of cognitive rehabilitation on attention, the ability to perform daily activities, mood, and quality of life in people who have attention problems following a stroke.

Background

Many people have problems with attention after stroke. They are unable to concentrate for prolonged periods and are distractible, unable to focus on a specific task.

Study Characteristics

We identified six studies that compared cognitive rehabilitation with a control group receiving usual care. We did not consider listening to music, meditation, yoga, or mindfulness as cognitive rehabilitation. The six studies involved 223 participants demonstrating attentional problems post-stroke.

Key Results

We found no evidence that cognitive rehabilitation improved general measures of attention. The group that received cognitive rehabilitation performed better on tasks requiring divided attention, but this benefit was only immediate and did not persist.

Certainty of the Evidence

The very low to moderate methodological quality of the studies means no firm conclusions can be drawn about cognitive rehabilitation's effect on attention following stroke.