Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Sarah A. Nguyen, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 2200, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. E-mail: SANguyen@mednet.ucla.edu.
Abstract: Integrative medicine takes a holistic approach because it considers multiple aspects of the individual. This includes a person’s physical, emotional, interpersonal, behavioral, nutritional, environmental, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing that contribute to the Whole Person Health. There is increasing interest and popularity of integrative approaches to treating cognitive decline and dementia because of the multifactorial nature of aging and the limited pharmacological interventions available in treating cognitive decline and dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. This review summarizes the existing evidence using complementary and integrative medicine therapies in cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. This includes the use of mind-body therapies, lifestyle interventions (nutritional, physical exercise, stress reduction), and other integrative modalities. Unfortunately, there are still limited studies available to guide clinicians despite the increasing popularity of integrative treatments.
