Clinical Research Directory

Effects of Exercise Snacking on Physical Fitness, Cognition, and Pain in Institutionalized Older Adults

This study aims to compare the effects of two different exercise approaches on health and well-being in older adults living in residential care facilities. One approach, called "exercise snacking," consists of short and frequent bouts of physical activity spread throughout the day, while the other involves longer, structured exercise sessions performed a few times per week. Approximately 75 adults aged 65 years and older will be randomly assigned to one of the two exercise programs and will participate for 12 weeks. The study will examine whether exercise snacking is as effective as conventional exercise in improving physical fitness, cognitive function, chronic pain intensity, quality of life, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The researchers hypothesize that short, intermittent exercise sessions may provide similar or greater health benefits compared to traditional exercise programs and may represent a practical and accessible strategy to promote physical activity in older adults living in institutional settings.

Real-world Clinical Response to Trazodone in Italy, Poland, and Romania

TRACOMDD study is a study with the intention to describe the real-world use of trazodone and the clinical response in a sub-group of patients affected by Major Depressive Disorder and Mild Cognitive impairment, by collecting data from standard clinical practice in Italy, Poland, and Romania

Evaluation of the Effect of L-Arginine on the Cognitive Function in Geriatric Patients

This study aims to evaluate the effect of L-arginine supplementation on cognitive function in geriatric patients. Eligible participants will receive either L-arginine (6 grams once daily) or placebo, and their cognitive performance will be assessed using validated cognitive assessment tools over the study period. The participants will receive the intervention for 4 weeks and followed up every 2 weeks. The primary outcome is improvement in cognitive function, while secondary outcomes include safety, tolerability, and quality of life measures. The findings may provide evidence for the potential role of L-arginine in supporting cognitive health in elderly populations.

LSVT Big and Dual Task Training in Cognitive Impaired Patients

The goal of this study ifs to determine the comparative effects of Lee Silverman voice treatment Big and dual task training on balance, cognition and functional mobility in older adults with cognitive impairment. Perform LSVT big four times in a week for about 4 months. Perform dual task training four times in a week for about 4 months. Complete assessments at baseline, the 4th, 8th, 12th weeks, and a follow-up at the 16th week. Outcome measures include Mini BESTest, MoCA, stroop test and time up and go test. Statistical analyses will assess within-group and between-group effects based on data distribution.

Neuropsychological Assessment Of The Oldest-Old Population.(NEUROPSIC-GR)

Neuropsychological tests currently considered to evaluate the cognitive performance of the oldest-old population (more than 80 years) are not adapted to this group population. This trial aims to determine the normal limits for this group population of a set of 18 neuropsychological test. Results may improve the diagnostic cognitive evaluation of this population.

Probiotics in Mild Alzheimer's Disease

The main objective is to investigate whether administration of probiotics to patients with mild Alzheimer's Disease (AD) reduces neuroinflammation, improves cognitive function and modifies neurophysiological measures, compared to a patient group that receives placebo (no active probiotics).

Alzheimer's Disease Treatment With Combination of 40Hz Light and Cognitive Therapy

Electrical activity in the brain known as "gamma" brainwaves help connect and process information throughout the brain. These gamma waves are diminished in Alzheimer's disease. New research in Alzheimer's disease mouse models shows that exposure to light flickering at the rate of 40 flashes per second or 40Hz increased gamma brainwaves and led to clearing of beta amyloid plaques in the brain, a key abnormality in Alzheimer's disease. This project will test the ability of a novel iPad App (AlzLife https://www.alz.life/) that delivers light therapy at 40 Hz combined with cognitive therapy to improve cognition, function, and quality of life in Alzheimer's disease.

Brain Health Virtual Reality Study

The Interventions for Brain Health Virtual Reality Study is a NIH-funded clinical research trial at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Health under the supervision of the study principal investigator Dr. Judy Pa. The overarching goal of this trial is to use a novel virtual reality (VR) based intervention that simultaneously engages physical and cognitive activity aimed at improving brain health and cognition in older adults. The investigators will compare 3 types of interventions: physical activity, VR cognitive activity, and combined VR physical and cognitive activity over 16 weeks to evaluate physical and brain health changes.

The "Motoric Cognitive Risk" Syndrome in the Canadian Population

Cognition and locomotion are two human abilities controlled by the brain. Their decline is highly prevalent with aging, and is greater than the simple sum of their respective prevalence, suggesting a complex age-related interplay between cognition and locomotion. Recently, a systematic review and meta-analysis has provided evidence that poor gait performance predicts dementia and, in particular, has demonstrated that "motoric cognitive risk" (MCR) syndrome, which has been described in cognitively healthy individuals and combines subjective cognitive complaint with objective slow gait speed, is a pre-dementia syndrome. The uniqueness of "motoric cognitive risk" (MCR)syndrome is that it does not rely on a complex evaluation or laboratory investigations. Thus, it is easy to apply in population-based settings. The overall objective of the proposal is to examine the epidemiology of the newly reported "motoric cognitive risk" (MCR) syndrome, in the Quebec population using the database of the NuAge study.

Cognitive and Neural Assessment Platform and Localized Norm for Macau Older Adults.

The current project is dedicated to creating a comprehensive cognitive and neural assessment platform and corresponding norms tailored specifically to the older adults in Macau.