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To date, few studies have examined the experience of spouse caregivers living with a person with early-onset dementia. Moreover, few support resources are offered to these family caregivers and fewer are still tailored to their unique trajectory. The aim of this qualitative study was to document the lived experience of spouse caregivers of young patients in order to inform the development of professional support tailored to their reality. A sample of 12 spouses of persons diagnosed with dementia before the age of 65 participated in semistructured interviews. Six themes emerged from their caregiver trajectories, namely, difficulty managing behavioral and psychological symptoms, long quest for diagnosis, nondisclosure to others and denial of diagnosis, grief for loss of spouse and midlife projects, difficulty juggling unexpected role and daily life responsibilities, and difficulty planning for future. Results open up innovative avenues for the development of interventions geared to facilitating role transition for these spouse caregivers.

Physical exercise training leads to improved cognitive functioning and psychological well-being in frail older adults.

Seven axes emerged from the analyses, showing that control over symptoms gradually leads to deterioration of marital interactions and to the components of marital dissolution.

This program underscores that a proactive intervention approach from the onset of the care trajectory is key to fostering caregiver adaptation to the new challenges they must meet.

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In addition to the reduced physical capacity, frailty might affect selective components of cognition and quality of life. These dimensions should be investigated in intervention programs designed for frail older adults.

PurposePhysical exercise and cognitive training have been shown to enhance cognition among older adults. However, few studies have looked at the potential synergetic effects of combining physical and cognitive training in a single study. Prior trials on combined training have led to interesting yet equivocal results. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of combined physical and cognitive interventions on physical fitness and neuropsychological performance in healthy older adults.MethodsSeventy-six participants were randomly assigned to one of four training combinations using a 2×2 factorial design. The physical intervention was a mixed aerobic and resistance training program, and the cognitive intervention was a dual-task (DT) training program. Stretching and toning exercises and computer lessons were used as active control conditions. Physical and cognitive measures were collected pre- and postintervention.ResultsAll groups showed equivalent improvements in measures of functional mobility. The aerobic–strength condition led to larger effect size in lower body strength, independently of cognitive training. All groups showed improved speed of processing and inhibition abilities, but only participants who took part in the DT training, independently of physical training, showed increased task-switching abilities. The level of functional mobility after intervention was significantly associated with task-switching abilities.ConclusionCombined training did not yield synergetic effects. However, DT training did lead to transfer effects on executive performance in neuropsychological tests. Both aerobic-resistance training and stretching-toning exercises can improve functional mobility in older adults.