INTEGRATIVE AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACHES IN THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease characterized by the deposition of extracellular amyloid plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and nerve cell death. As it is a progressive and incurable disease, with an increasingly negative global epidemiological outlook for the coming decades, AD has significant impacts on the quality of life of patients and family members/caregivers. In this context, Integrative and Complementary Health Practices (PICs) and innovative multidisciplinary approaches with a therapeutic focus gain prominence. This study aims to discuss the scientific evidence published in the last decade about integrative practices and multidimensional approaches related to the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, according to the literature. This is an integrative review based on articles published between 2010 and 2020 available free of charge in the Virtual Health Library, Scielo and Pubmed databases. The search strategy used was based on the keywords: “Alzheimer”, “Integrative Practices” and “Multidimensional Approaches” associated with the Boolean connector AND. After the research, the articles were subjected to selective stages for eligibility. It was evident that complementary and multidimensional health approaches are essential to delay the progression and minimize the effects of AD, contributing to longitudinal monitoring and promoting comprehensive care for human beings that considers the physical, emotional, neurocognitive and social aspects not only for patients, but also for family members/caregivers.