“SAIDO Learning was shown to improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in research trials…”

Chapel Hill Community in Canal Fulton, Ohio, has been selected to participate in a research trial that will test the effectiveness of the cognitive rehabilitation therapy approach called SAIDO Learning.

Known in Japan as learning therapy — and based on symptoms like apathy and depressed mood, quality of life, and cognitive and physical functioning in older adults living with mild to moderate dementia — SAIDO is a non-pharmacological treatment developed by the Kumon Institute of Education. Subjects in the control groups will participate in a cognitive/social stimulation or enhanced socialization activity.

The research project is being led by two co-principal investigators based in Ohio: Michael E. Felver, MD, medical director of the Center for Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation; and Patricia A. Higgins, RN, PhD, associate professor and researcher at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Their collaborative work is taking place primarily at Eliza Jennings, a nationally recognized nonprofit leader in aging services in Cleveland.

In addition, five aging services organizations (ASOs) have been recruited to serve as sites for the Intervention Group, and five ASOs were recruited to serve as the Control Group sites.

“SAIDO Learning was shown to improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in research trials conducted in Japan, as well as in the United States in 2011 at Eliza Jennings,” said Debra Durbin, administrator of Chapel Hill Community. “This new research trial will be national in scope. Chapel Hill residents will participate for six months and the entire trial will last for one year, beginning in early 2016.”

“Ultimately, the goal is to significantly enhance the quality of life for older adults while reducing the level of care and subsequent costs of care,” said Rev. Kenneth Daniel, president and CEO of United Church Homes. “If the investigational treatment is proven to be effective, the national study could potentially serve as the basis for justifying reimbursement for cognitive rehabilitation therapy, thus making SAIDO Learning available for all older adults living with this dreadful disease.”