Clinical Research Directory

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.

A Pivotal Study of Sensory Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease (Hope Study, CA-0011)

This is a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, adaptive-design pivotal study of sensory stimulation in subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Up to approximately 670 subjects will be randomized to 12 months of daily treatment with either Active or Sham Sensory Stimulation Systems. Efficacy will be measured using the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study- Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) assessment and a combined statistical test (CST) of the ADCS-ADL and the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE).

Passive Sensor Identification of Digital Biomarkers to Assess Effects of Orally Administered Nicotinamide Riboside

This project's main goal is to use state-of-the-art passive sensing techniques to identify digital biomarkers that relate to bioenergetic changes in the brain due to nicotinamide riboside supplementation in those with mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's dementia.

Assessing Cognitive Decline at Home

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) refer to a range of mental and emotional issues that can be observed through how patients move, perform daily tasks, and express feelings on their faces. In this study, the investigators want to find ways to accurately and unobtrusively track these symptoms in people's homes over time. Our goals are to note when these symptoms happen, predict potential problems, and gather clear data to help doctors make accurate diagnoses. To do this, the investigators will first collect information from participants who have in-home sensors. the investigators will then use special computer programs that can recognize everyday activities and identify features that connect to scores from the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C). These scores will be compared to a questionnaire (NPIQ) filled out by caregivers or family members, along with any relevant information from doctors about the patients' symptoms. The investigators aim to see how these features can help differentiate between types of NPS, such as mood changes and agitation. Finally, the investigators will create a dashboard for doctors that summarizes the patterns of these symptoms in patients, making it easier to monitor and manage their mental health.

Persons With Dementia and Their Extended Family Caregivers

Immediate family members shoulder the majority of care responsibilities for persons living with dementia. However, due to various societal changes, elder care responsibilities have expanded to extended family members, including grandchildren, siblings, nieces/nephews, siblings, and step-kin. The main objective of this study is to understand the caregiving journeys of various extended family members involved in dementia care. We aim to learn about caregivers' care management strategies; their use of home and community-based services and informal support; and barriers to service usage. We will use the results from the study to help enhance service delivery, alleviate care-related stress, and improve the quality of life of dementia patients and their caregivers. We will use a mixed-methods design to explore the challenges faced by caregivers as well as their service usage for the person living with dementia. Our methodology involves an initial telephone interview (approx. 70 minutes) that includes open-ended questions, standard items, and structured measures, followed by an 8-day semi-structured daily diary interview about daily care responsibilities and experiences with services (15-20 minutes each evening). This study will be conducted with 240 extended family members serving as one of the main caregivers for a person living with dementia in a community setting.

The Nightlight Falls Prevention Study

This project will test the effectiveness of a novel intervention consisting of unobtrusive, low-intensity, horizontal and vertical lights that outline the bathroom or entry way doorframe in residents' rooms and provide visual cues to promote postural stability. Specifically, this pragmatic crossover trial will enroll 335 assisted living residents with dementia and follow them for one year, comparing the incidence of nighttime falls during the lighting condition to the incidence of falls during the control condition; secondarily, it will determine whether and to what extent the intervention effect is modified by resident- and environmental-level risk factors, and satisfaction with the lighting system.

A Spanish-language Caregiver-Enabled Care Program

The purpose of the study is to develop and test the feasibility of a nonmedical digital health intervention, the Spanish-language Caregiver-Enabled Care Program (CECP), with Spanish-speaking caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD). CECP is a nonmedical digital population health intervention that provides personalized education, proactive 1:1 human coaching, and remote monitoring, all delivered via a dedicated tablet shipped to the caregiver's home at no cost to the caregiver or PWD. For this study, the investigators are recruiting 135 patient/caregiver dyads.

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.

Localized Analysis of Normalized Distance From Scalp to Cortex and Personalized Evaluation (LANDSCAPE)

Scalp to cortex distance (SCD), as a key technological parameter of brain stimulation, has been highlighted in the guidelines of non-invasive brain stimulation. However, in the context of age-related brain changes, the region-specific SCD and its impact on stimulation-induced electric field in different types of neurodegenerative diseases remain unclear.

Language, Speech and Motor Function in MCI Due to AD and Alzheimer's Disease

The goal of this observational cross-sectional study is to explore the characteristics of language, speech, and motor function in persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's disease ("MCI due to AD") and persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease ("AD"). This study aims to: * Explore motor, speech, and language functions in MCI due to AD and mild and moderate AD. * Combine the characteristics of motor, language, and speech functions to gain more insight into the association of language, speech, and motor changes during MCI due to AD and mild and moderate AD. Researchers will compare the outcomes to an age-matched control group without cognitive impairment. Participants will undergo: * Two motor function tests to assess gait and hand grip strength. * Four language and speech function tests to assess spontaneous speech and verbal fluency..

Implementing Dementia Care Management Into Routine Care in the Region Siegen-Wittgenstein

Dementia Care Management (DeCM) is an evidence-based model of care in Germany. It has proven its efficacy and cost-effectiveness. However it has not been implemented into routine care so far. The aim of this trial is to implement Dementia Care Management into routine care in a selected region in Germany and evaluate the process of implementation as well as the effect of Dementia Care Management on participants. Recruited in regular routine care n=60 people with cognitive impairment and/ or their cares will receive Dementia Care Management provided by specifically trained and qualified dementia care managers for 6 months. Data will be assessed and analysed prior to the implementation, immediately after having received the intervention and at a later time point. The effect of the intervention on person-oriented health care outcomes wil be analysed as well as factors associated with that.

Accelerated Intermittent Theta-burst Stimulation to Modify Cognitive Function and Balance in Dementia and Memory Loss

The process of aging is accompanied by normal deterioration of body systems, leading to a decline in various functional domains including cognitive, visual, vestibular, somatosensory, and motor function. With this functional decline, there is an increasing burden of care due to the rise of injury, direct and indirect healthcare costs, and the loss of independence in performing daily activities. Notably, falls in the older population represents one of the greatest costs incurred by Canadians annually. The study investigates whether rTMS delivered to M1 will lead to greater improvement in balance compared to rTMS delivered to DLPFC. Determining this answer will allow greater success in TMS target refinement. Given the profound burden that geriatric medicine has on the Canadian healthcare system, understanding the link between balance and cognition can significantly impact the approach to management of this population.

Extension to a Pivotal Study of Sensory Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease (OLE Hope Study, CA-0015)

This is an open-label extension for a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, adaptive design pivotal study. Participants who complete the Hope Study (CA-0011) will be eligible to consent for screening to enroll in the OLE Hope Study (CA-0015). All participants will be treated with an Active Sensory Stimulation System (GS120) for 60 minutes daily for up to 12 months. There will be no Sham treatment group or randomization involved in this study.

Blood-based Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease (AD) may currently be diagnosed using molecular biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and/or positron emission tomography (PET). These diagnostic procedures are highly accurate, but the high cost and low availability hamper their feasibility. Recently, ultrasensitive blood tests predicting Alzheimer pathologies in the brain have been developed. These tests have a reliable ability to differentiate AD from other neurodegenerative disorders and identify AD across the clinical continuum with high sensitivity and specificity in research cohorts with a high prevalence of AD. This project will assess the predictive value of these tests in a general practice population. The hypothesis is that the actual blood panel will have high positive predictive value for a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in the primary health care setting.

The Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine Cohort Study

The researchers plain to build a large-scale, longitudinal, prospective cohort characterized by TCM dampness syndrome. With the biobank of this cohort the investigators want to find the causality between TCM dampness syndrome and clinical chronic diseases and a new way to treat clinical disease.

PUMCH Dementia Longitudinal Cohort Study

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

Multi-Center Study of Sensory Stimulation to Improve Brain Function

The Overture Study is a randomized, controlled, single-blind multi-center clinical trial using the GammaSense Stimulation system to study safety, tolerability, and efficacy in people with mild to moderate cognitive impairment.