Clinical Research Directory

The Efficacy of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation on Cognitive Functions in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Double-Blinded Randomised Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine if non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) can enhance cognitive function with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) population. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What is the possibility effect of using the NIBS on cognitive functions as well as the cardiopulmonary parameters in COPD population? * What is the relation between cognitive function parameters and cardiopulmonary parameters in COPD population who suffer from cognitive impairment (CI)? Researchers will compare NIBS to a sham-NIBS to see if NIBS works to improve cognitive function in COPD population. Participants will: Receive NIBS or a sham-NIBS 5 sessions/week for 3 weeks for 20 min each session. Visit the clinic at the beginning for baseline assessment then after the completion of the 3 weeks to reassess them. Outcome measures for cognitive parameters and pulmonary parameters will be taken pre and post NIBS intervention

Detect CI (Cognitive Impairment) Study

This is a prospective multicenter cohort study which will evaluate rapid (administration time ≤ 5 minutes) cognitive screening tools that can be administered preoperatively in older patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Namely, our study will determine the diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curves \[AUC\]) of two rapid, easily administered cognitive screening tools: the Mini-Cog and the Ascertain Dementia 8-item Questionnaire (AD8) against the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Additionally, we will examine the prevalence of cognitive impairment (CI) in patients meeting the CI criteria by either the AD8, Mini-Cog, MoCA, or a single cognitive question from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \[CDC\]. This study will target older patients from surgical offices and/or pre-admission clinics at Toronto General (TGH), Toronto Western (TWH), and Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH), Toronto, Ontario. The identification and recruitment of eligible patients will be a collaborative effort between the nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and the research team. Written informed consent to participate in the study will be obtained from all patients.