ABSTRACT. Background: The functional capacity of elderly individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD) progressively declines. Objective: To verify the influence of sociodemographic, clinical, staging, mobility, and postural and cognitive balance data on the impairment of the functional capacity of elderly individuals with AD. Methods: This observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was performed at the Physiotherapy Department of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The study consisted of forty elderly individuals aged ≥60 years old with mild or moderate AD, who could ambulate independently. The instruments used included a questionnaire to assess sociodemographic and anthropometric data; the Mini-Mental Health State Examination (MMSE); the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR); a clock drawing test (CDT); a verbal fluency test (VFT); the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG); and the Clinical Test of Sensory Organization and Balance (CTSIB). Simple descriptive analyses, Mann-Whitney test, Spearman's correlation test, linear regression modeling, and prediction equation (p<0.05, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]) were performed. Results: Fifteen linear regression models were generated, with the final model chosen for analysis. The variables assumed in that model were CDR, MMSE score, and condition 3 of the CTSIB, which explained 60.1% of the outcome. Conclusions: Impairment of functional capacity in elderly individuals with AD was influenced by disease progression, which was due to cognitive deficits and deficits in postural balance, which are related to the inaccuracy of the somatosensory system in performing sensory integration.

This study aimed to report the effects of vestibular physiotherapy (VP) associated with Yoga in a vasovagal syndrome (VVS) patient with dizziness and body imbalance complaints. We described a 22-year-old patient who underwent one year of VP with a frequency of one to two times per week (totaling 31 sessions). The treatment for the cervical region was performed using manual therapy and motor control training of the deep cervical flexor muscles. The patient started to practice Yoga three months after the beginning of the VP. After one year of treatment, a substantial improvement in the symptoms of dizziness and postural balance were observed. However, the cervical pain remained present and cervical mobility was slightly limited after two years. These findings lasted one year after the end of the VP program, a period in which the patient performed only Yoga. Despite the promising results, future studies with larger sample sizes and adequate methodological quality are necessary to confirm the effects of therapeutic exercises in individuals with VVS.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the functional mobility and postural balance of older adults among smild and moderate stages of Alzheimer's disease using the Timed Up and Go test (TUGT) and the Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance (CTSIB). Methodology: Forty elderly people were divided into two groups according to the mild (CDR1; n = 26) and moderate (CDR2; n = 14) stages of the disease. The Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) was used for staging the disease, which allows classifying the different degrees of dementia, assessing cognition and behavior. The scale allows classification into CDR 0 (normal or no alteration); 0.5 (questionable or mild cognitive impairment); 1 (mild dementia); 2 (moderate dementia) and 3 (severe dementia). In this study, only subjects classified as CDR 1 or CDR 2 were included. For the assessment of functional mobility, the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) was used in the conditions of single task, dual cognitive task and dual motor task, and the Clinical Test of Sensory (CTSIB) to assess postural balance. Data were compared between groups. Results: Performance on the TUGT single task, cognitive dual task, and motor dual task was significantly worse in the CDR2 group compared to the CDR1 group (p < 0.05). The CTSIB was not significantly different between the groups in the four conditions. Conclusion: Functional mobility during tasks involving cognition differs between older adults with mild and moderate dementia, and this commitment is more accentuated in dual-task situations. Postural balance did not differ between the stages of the disease.