Cognitive training program improves cognitive ability and daily living ability in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

Background Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical syndrome of mild memory or other cognitive impairment without dementia and is a clinical transition state between normal aging and dementia. Careful and meticulous nursing intervention can improve the clinical symptoms of MCI and delay the progression of the disease. Aims This research aimed to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive function training interventions in elderly patients with MCI. Methods 106 patients were randomized into the intervention group or the control group. They received conventional nursing intervention and those in the intervention group received additional cognitive training program for 6 weeks. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), activities of daily living (ADL) scales, and Barthel index (BI) were evaluated before and 6 weeks after the intervention, as well as the serum levels of S100 beta and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) at two time points. Results After intervention, the MMSE scores and MoCA scores in both groups were significantly increased and the score in the intervention group was significantly higher. In the intervention group, the performance of conventional nursing intervention and cognitive training program significantly increased the scores of ADL and BI (p < 0.001). The serum levels of NSE and S100 beta in the intervention group were significantly lower. Discussion The performance of cognitive training program alleviated the brain tissue damage in elderly patients with MCI. Conclusions The performance of cognitive training program in elderly patients with MCI improved their cognitive ability and daily living ability.