Clinical Research Directory

Influence of Individual Traits on Adaptation Processes in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic condition that affects behavior, decision-making, and the ability to adapt to changing situations. While many studies have examined AUD from medical and social perspectives, less is known about how individual psychological traits influence the way people with AUD respond to uncertainty and adapt their behavior. This study aims to better understand how personal characteristics such as anxiety, self-esteem, sensitivity to reward and punishment, perfectionism, and cognitive abilities may influence adaptation processes in individuals with AUD. Participants receiving usual care at Paul Brousse Hospital will be invited to take part in a single experimental session lasting about 45 minutes. During this session, they will complete: * A computerized learning task in which they respond to visual stimuli and receive feedback on their performance * Standardized questionnaires assessing psychological traits and cognitive functioning The learning task is designed to evaluate how participants adjust their behavior when the rules of the task change unexpectedly. Researchers will measure how performance changes in response to uncertainty and examine how these changes relate to individual psychological characteristics. This research does not modify participants' medical care and involves no medication or invasive procedures. By improving understanding of the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms involved in Alcohol Use Disorder, the study may help advance scientific knowledge about how individuals adapt to uncertainty and inform future research in addiction and mental health.

Impact of Glasses for Vision Problems on Cognitive Function in Rural Older Adults

The aim of this project is to explore whether vision correction can effectively slow cognitive decline in older adults. The primary question it seeks to answer is: Can providing free near and/or distance vision correction glasses to older adults with refractive errors or uncorrected vision, who have normal baseline cognition and hearing, reduce the rate of cognitive decline over 36 months in a cost-effective manner? Researchers will compare the rate of cognitive decline over 36 months between older adults who receive refractive correction and those who do not.

The BRAIN Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Study: Bringing to Light the Risk Factors

The primary purpose of this proposal will be to identify potentially modifiable risk factors of long-term cognitive impairment (i.e. development of delirium and exposure to sedative and analgesic medications) in ICU patients. The investigators will quantify the independent contribution of these risk factors to the incidence of long-term cognitive impairment, controlling for other established risk factors including age, pre-existing cognitive impairment, and apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotype. Quantifying the contributions of these modifiable risk factors will pave the way for the development of preventive and/or treatment strategies to reduce the incidence, severity and/or duration of long-term cognitive impairment and improve functional recovery for patients with critical illness.

Westlake Aging Cohort (WeAC)

The Westlake Ageing Cohort (WeAC) is a longitudinal cohort study conducted in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The investigators aim to enroll 2,800 participants aged 55 years and older for long-term follow-up. The population will include individuals with neurodegenerative diseases or those at the prodromal stage of cognitive impairment, as well as healthy middle-aged and older adults serving as controls. The investigators will collect their sociodemographic, dietary, lifestyle, clinical, and neuroimaging data, as well as biological samples.

MRI Technical Development and Applications in Kidney Disease

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as a non-invasive and non-contrast enhanced technique, has the potential to improve patient health care and management. The overall objective of proposed project is to: 1. develop, customize, and optimize anatomic and functional MRI methods, 2. explore the use of MRI methods to study CKD and evaluate post-transplant kidneys, and 3. investigate the potential of MRI in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of the progression of renal dysfunction. In addition to direct studies of the kidney, brain MRI studies will also be performed to identify the cerebrovascular and cognitive effects of chronic renal function deficiency and medical treatment (e.g. hemodialysis and immunosuppression). The brain and kidneys have similar vascular bed, and both are susceptible to vascular injury, which provides the pathological basis for the widely recognized association of reduced renal function with prevalent cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) and cognitive impairment (CI). The MRI methods in the brain will be applied to explore the origins for widely observed CVDs and prevalent cognitive impairment (CI) in kidney disease patients.

Supplementation of Inulin + L. Acidophilus in Elders with T2DM

This study investigates the effects of a symbotic supplement (Inulin + Lactobacillus acidophilus) on cognitive impairment in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by insulin deficiency or resistance, leading to hyperglycemia and long-term complications, including cognitive decline. Cognitive impairment in T2DM patients is linked to oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and disrupted insulin signaling in the brain. The gut-brain axis plays a crucial role in cognition, with gut microbiota influencing neuroinflammatory processes. Dysbiosis, common in T2DM, exacerbates cognitive decline. Probiotics like Lactobacillus acidophilus and prebiotics like inulin can restore gut microbiota balance, reduce inflammation, and promote brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production, improving cognitive function. This randomized, crossover clinical trial will enroll 24 patients aged 50-65 with T2DM and mild cognitive impairment. Participants will be divided into control and experimental groups, with an 8-week intervention phase followed by a crossover. The experimental group will receive 8g of inulin and L. acidophilus daily, while the control group will receive a placebo. Cognitive assessments (MMSE, MoCA), PET-CT imaging, gut microbiota sequencing, and butyrate measurements will evaluate the intervention's effects. The study aims to determine whether symbiotic supplementation can improve cognitive function and metabolic brain activity in T2DM patients. If successful, it may offer an accessible, non-pharmacological approach to mitigating diabetes-related cognitive decline. The research is funded by the Universidad Anáhuac Health Sciences Research Center and international diabetes research organizations.

Development of a Prediction Model for Delirium After Cardiac Surgery Using a Novel Self-Administered Preoperative Cognitive Assessment Tool

This observational cohort study is designed to validate the CogCheck application as a risk prediction tool for postoperative delirium in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.