Clinical Research Directory

Home Tele Rehabilitation Therapy for Vascular Dementia

To determine whether the home telerehabilitation therapy is feasible and lessens caregiver burden in chronic stroke patients with and without vascular dementia (VaD)

Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi--Cognitive (BASIC-Cognitive)

The Mexican American population in the U.S. is rapidly growing and aging. This project seeks to determine the prevalence and outcomes of cognitive impairment and dementia in Mexican Americans. It also seeks solutions to help patients with cognitive impairment and dementia and their caregivers get the resources they need.

BRINK (BRain In Kidney Disease) Memory Study 2.0

In this study, the investigators will be looking at results of tests of memory and thinking and daily activities in a group of people without known chronic kidney disease (CKD) , and a group of CKD patients, and follow the participants for up to four more years, including after the participants start dialysis or receive a transplant. The investigators are doing this study to compare how often memory loss, confusion and difficulty with daily activities occur in those without and those with CKD. Additionally, the investigators are doing this study to identify risk factors for memory and thinking problems in CKD patients. The information received through the NDI will be utilized to help track our study population and help provide useful information regarding cause of death of those in our study.

Determinants of Incident Stroke Cognitive Outcomes and Vascular Effects on RecoverY

The overall goal of the DISCOVERY study is to better understand what factors contribute to changes in cognitive (i.e., thinking and memory) abilities in patients who experienced a stroke. The purpose of the study is to help doctors identify patients at risk for dementia (decline in memory, thinking and other mental abilities that significantly affects daily functioning) after their stroke so that future treatments may be developed to improve outcomes in stroke patients. For this study, a "stroke" is defined as either (1) an acute ischemic stroke (AIS, or blood clot in the brain), (2) an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, or bleeding in the brain), (3) or an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH, or bleeding around the brain caused by an abnormal bulge in a blood vessel that bursts). The investigators hypothesize that: 1. The size, type and location of the stroke play an important role in recovery of thinking and memory abilities after stroke, and pre-existing indicators of brain health further determine the extent of this recovery. 2. Specific stroke events occurring in individuals with underlying genetic or biological risk factors can cause further declines in brain heath, leading to changes in thinking and memory abilities after stroke. 3. Studying thinking and memory alongside brain imaging and blood samples in patients who have had a stroke allows for earlier identification of declining brain health and development of individualized treatment plans to improve patient outcomes in the future.

The Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study AD/ADRD Project

The DPPOS AD/ADRD project will address the overarching question: What are the determinants and the nature of cognitive impairment among persons with pre-diabetes (PreD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), who are a high-risk group for cognitive impairment and represent a large fraction of the United States (US) population? This U19 proposal addresses the National Alzheimer's Project Act goal to "prevent, halt, or reverse AD" in the high-risk group of persons with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, who represent over half of the population aged 60 years and older in the US.

Promoting Goals-of-Care Discussions for Patients With Memory Problems and Their Caregivers

The goal of this clinical trial is to improve communication among clinicians, patients with memory problems, and their family members. We are testing a way to help clinicians have better conversations to address patients' goals for their healthcare. To do this, we created a simple, short guide called the "Jumpstart Guide." The goal of this research study is to show that using this kind of guide is possible and can be helpful for patients and their families. Patients' clinicians may receive a Jumpstart Guide before the patient's clinic visit. Researchers will compare patients whose clinician received a Jumpstart Guide to patients whose clinician did not receive a guide to see if more patients in the Jumpstart Guide group had conversations about the patient's goals for their healthcare. Patients and their family members will also be asked to complete surveys after the visit with their clinician.

HOme-based Brain Monitoring With a GARment-EEG to Study Cognitive Decline in the Aging Population

This study will investigate the validity of the HOGAR EEG/PSG monitoring kit designed by Bitbrain as a tool for characterizing and assessing cognitive function in older adults, as well as for detecting and predicting cognitive decline. The kit consists of two EEG headbands and a mobile computing device that allows measurements of sleep patterns (PSG) and brain activity (EEG) in a home environment.

Statins in Reducing Events in the Elderly Mind (STAREE-Mind) Imaging Substudy

The STAREE-Mind imaging sub-study will examine the effect of statin treatment over a 4-year period, compared with placebo, on markers of brain health.

WHIte MAtter Hyperintensity Shape and Glymphatics

In a society with increased life expectancy, the economic, social and personal burden of dementia increases. Dementia is often caused by a combination of neurovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Impaired brain clearance is suggested to be closely related to dementia development, as waste products (e.g. amyloid beta) accumulate in the brain, leading to neurodegeneration. Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is the most common neurovascular disease that even contributes to about 45% of dementia pathophysiology in patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia. White matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin (WMH) are the key brain MRI manifestation of cerebral SVD. There is evidence that the currently known and MRI-visible WMH are landmarks of an already progressed stage of the underlying pathology. The pathophysiology of WMH has been attributed to multiple underlying mechanisms, such as hypoperfusion, defective cerebrovascular reactivity and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. Furthermore, different anatomical locations and different types of WMH are related to different underlying pathological changes. Using ultra-high field 7T MR imaging techniques WMH lesions can be detected with a higher sensitivity and resolution than on 3T MRI. The hypothesis is that different pathological mechanisms of cerebral SVD lead to variations in WMH shape. Moreover, the brain clearance ('glymphatic') system of the brain appears to be tightly connected to dementia pathology. Thus, novel markers of glymphatic activity could aid to describe and understand the pathology.

Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet in Stroke Patients Patients

To test the effects of a 2- to 3-year intervention of the MIND diet versus usual post-stroke care on cognitive decline, the characteristic feature of dementia, and on brain biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and vascular disease in a Phase Ill randomized controlled trial of 250 patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke, aged 55 years or older, and without dementia who are discharged home following hospitalization.

Association of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation with Digital Cognitive Training for Cognitive Remediation in Older Adults

BACKGROUND Cognitive decline in older adults, especially those who develop Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease, currently has limited options of pharmacological treatments, with modest efficacy. Digital Cognitive Training (DCT) and Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) are two promising tools for cognitive remediation in this population. In this exploratory study, we investigate feasibility, tolerability and preliminary effects of the association of both interventions in older adults with cognitive complaints. METHODS Older adults with cognitive complaints are being enrolled for this study, which comprises 5 daily sessions of 30 minutes of DCT using the BrainHQ platform while simultaneously receiving theta tACS (6Hz, 1.6mA) targeting the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex.

Cannabidiol's Role in Dementia Management

This trial investigates the therapeutic benefits of cannabidiol (CBD) for Dementia patients in Malaysia. As dementia becomes increasingly prevalent worldwide, there's a pressing demand for impactful remedies. This research will delve into CBD's influence on cognitive functions, daily activities, mental health, and overall life quality of dementia sufferers. Utilizing a range of established assessment instruments, including the ADAS-COG subscale for cognitive effects, the NPI score for psychological well-being, and the QOLAD questionnaire for life quality, we aim to discern CBD's potential in ameliorating the conditions of those with dementia. This study's results could shape novel treatment methods and improved care for dementia patients, benefiting not just Malaysia but the world at large.

How Does Pianistic Musical Training Influence the Development of Alzheimer's Disease?

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about and describe how pianistic training influences the development of Alzheimer's disease. The key question is: Can pianistic practice influence the development of Alzheimer's disease? Participants will receive piano lessons for 4 weeks (20 sessions) and we will evaluate the evolution of the different parameters described by the tests carried out.

The Imperial Comprehensive Cognitive Assessment in Cerebrovascular Disease (IC3)

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability worldwide, frequently resulting in persistent cognitive deficits among survivors. These deficits negatively impact recovery and therapy engagement, and their treatment is consistently rated as high priority by stakeholders and clinicians. Although clinical guidelines endorse cognitive screening for post-stroke management, there is currently no gold standard approach for identifying cognitive deficits after stroke, and clinical stroke services lack the capacity for long-term cognitive monitoring and care. Currently available assessment tools are either not stroke-specific, not in-depth or lack scalability, leading to heterogeneity in patient assessments. To address these challenges, a cost-effective, scalable, and comprehensive screening tool is needed to provide a stroke-specific assessment of cognition. The current study presents such a novel digital tool, the Imperial Comprehensive Cognitive Assessment in Cerebrovascular Disease (IC3), designed to detect both domain-general and domain-specific cognitive deficits in patients after stroke with minimal input from a health professional. To ensure its reliability, we will utilise multiple validation approaches, and aim to recruit a large normative sample of age-, gender-, and education-matched UK-based controls. Moreover, the IC3 assessment will be integrated within a larger prospective observational longitudinal clinical trial, where post-stroke cognition will be examined in tandem with brain imaging and blood biomarkers to identify novel multimodal biomarkers of recovery after stroke. By leveraging this rich dataset, our study will allow more precise targeting of cognitive rehabilitation to stroke survivors that are most at risk of progressive cognitive decline and have the greatest potential for recovery.

PUMCH Dementia Longitudinal Cohort Study

The PUMCH Dementia Cohort is a hospital-based, observational study of Chinese elderly with cognitive impairment.