Bottino 2005.

Study characteristics
Methods	RCT
Participants	N = 13 (9F/4M) 'Mildly impaired probable Alzheimer’s diagnosis' All participants taking rivastigmine 6‐12 mg/day for 2 months Mean MMSE 22.3 (SD 3.6; range 16‐28) Age 73.7 (range 62‐83) Outpatients
Interventions	'cognitive rehabilitation' plus rivastigmine; carers attended a support group at same time (N = 6) Treatment‐as‐usual: rivastigmine plus 30 minute monthly consultation with doctor in relation to medication (N = 7)
Outcomes	Participants: Cognition: MMSE; ADAS‐Cog, plus battery of neuropsychological tests ADL (rated by carer) Carers' mood: Hamilton Anxiety and Montgomery‐Asberg Depression Rating Scales
Notes	90 minutes, once a week, for 5 months
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Randomised blocks design
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Random allocation to either group by telephone made by an assessor blind to the patient group
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Assessment made by assessors blinded to group allocation
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Zero attrition reported
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	Scores for all measures reported
Other bias ‐ training and supervision	Unclear risk	No information provided on therapists
Other bias ‐ treatment manual	Unclear risk	Some detail given of 'cognitive rehabilitation training sessions', meeting criteria for cognitive stimulation, but no mention of manual or protocol