Efficacy of the Memory Motivation (MEMO) Web Application Training (MeMo)

Efficacy of the Memory Motivation (MEMO) Web Application for Cognitive and Behavioral Training in Patients With Neurocognitive Disorders

Alzheimer's Association, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis

Memory, attentional, and behavioural symptoms are the clinical hallmarks of Neurocognitive disorders (NCD) such as Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia indicate that Cognitive training may be offered to older adults with normal cognition and with mild cognitive impairment to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and/or dementia. The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the health domain is progressively expanding. The Alzheimer Innovation Association have developed MeMo (Memory Motivation) a free web application that can be used at home by patients. The objective of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of employing the MeMo platform on cognitive performance in patients suffering from NCD.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the MeMo cognitive training exercise platform in patients suffering from neurocognitive disorders. These exercises ,have been developed by the association Innovation Alzheimer and the CoBTeK research team, located with the Nice memory Center at the Institut Claude Pompidou. MeMo can be used freely at home by patients. More specifically, it is a randomized controlled study that aims to compare the evolution of activities cognition and behavior between patients not using these exercises, and patients using these exercises for 12 weeks, 4 sessions per week.

MeMo group: experimental: regular use at home of the Memo web application In the Memo group patients were instructed on how to use the application, and allowed to train for 12 weeks. It was also explained that this training needed to be done regularly on a basis of 4 sessions of 30 minutes each per week.

The patient betwenn 2 consultation could use the application MeMo. MeMo is a web application that can thus be used on any web browser (computer or tablet). On tablet, the application can be installed on home screen to look like a native app, and used offline.

Change is being assessed with the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE)

To score the IQCODE, add up the score for each question and divide by the number of questions. For the long IQCODE, divide by 26.

Change in motivation is being assessed with theApathy inventory, clinician version score 0 (healthy)- 12 (pathology)

Inclusion Criteria: Outpatient consulting the Memory center older than 60 years old Mini Mental State examination score (MMSE) between 16 and 28 / 30 met the DSM 5 diagnoses of mild neurocognitive disorders (mild NCD) or major neurocognitive disorders (Major NCD). Exclusion Criteria: Patients not able to read and write French presence of a hearing or major visual impairment a history of premorbid mental retardation had already used the MeMo application were presently involved in structured memory training activities.

Robert P, Manera V, Derreumaux A, Ferrandez Y Montesino M, Leone E, Fabre R, Bourgeois J. Efficacy of a Web App for Cognitive Training (MeMo) Regarding Cognitive and Behavioral Performance in People With Neurocognitive Disorders: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2020 Mar 11;22(3):e17167. doi: 10.2196/17167.