The study was a randomized controlled trial involving 40
consecutive patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
and their carers from a hospital outpatient memory disorders
clinic. Dementia was diagnosed according to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition (18), and the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
was made according to the criteria of the National
Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders
and Stroke and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders
Association (19). All participants were community
dwelling and either living with an informal carer (family or
friend) or had a carer who could visit on a daily basis.
Exclusion criteria were any physical condition that could
preclude full participation, such as noncontrolled systemic
illness or severe physical disability; evidence of any neurodegenerative
disorders other than Alzheimer’s disease;