Non-drug treatments equally effective in treating depression in dementia

Massage and touch therapy was one of the treatments found to be more effective than drugs in relieving the symptoms of depression in dementia patients. — Filepic

Non-drug therapies, such as exercise, appear to be as, or more, effective than drugs for reducing symptoms of depression in people with dementia, suggests research published online in The BMJ.

The findings suggest that people with dementia will derive a clinically meaningful benefit from non-drug interventions, and the researchers say doctors should consider more “social” prescribing of non-drug approaches to treat symptoms of depression and loneliness.