Nintendo Wii Virtual Reality Application In Dementia

Purpose: This study was planned to investigate the effects of the Nintendo Wii virtual reality application on muscle strength and fall risk in individuals with AD.

Method: The study included a total of 32 volunteers between the ages of 65-80, with mild or moderate AD diagnosed. These individuals were divided into 2 groups as a training group and control group. The training group was trained with games from different categories such as balance and aerobic exercises with a Nintendo Wii virtual reality device 2 times a week for a period of 6 weeks, with 1 session lasting for 30 minutes. Mini-Mental State Test, Knee Extension Muscle Strength, Timed Up and Go Test, Tinetti Falls Efficacy Scale results of individuals were recorded in the evaluation.

Inclusion criteria

• included volunteers between the ages of 65-80 with mild or moderate AD diagnosis,
• who did not have any difficulty or problems in communicating,
• who did not have any neurological diseases that disrupt balance and coordination such as a cerebrovascular event, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and neurological disorder,
• who obtained a score of 18 - 24 points in the Mini-Mental State Test (MMST)

Exclusion criteria

• Patients diagnosed with rapidly progressing dementia (infection, vascular, hematologic diseases),
• Those who could not be contacted during the follow-up period or who did not participate in the training session, those who experienced cardiac and cerebrovascular events, endocrine disorders, fluid-electrolyte imbalance and infection,
• Those with malignancy and those who received chemotherapy and radiotherapy that causes malignancy, delirium or depression and malignant sensory loss (those with the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament thickness of 4.56 and above),
• Those with a lower or upper extremity amputation at any level