Clinical Research Directory

Mental Strategy Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment

This study aims to reduce hippocampal activity in people at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and aims to examine whether this improves their episodic memory performance. We apply mental strategy trainings with strategies extracted from our previous study that applied real-time fMRI neurofeedback to reduce hippocampal activity. Participants take part in mental strategy trainings 2, 4, or 6 times. At baseline and after each 2 trainings, we assess their hippocampal activity as well as their episodic memory performance using an fMRI pattern separation task. In addition, we will gather blood samples to obtain Apolipoprotein E gene status (ApoE, only once) as well as plasma pTau (pTau217; 4 time-points). ApoE will be included as a covariate in our statistical models. For pTau217, we will calculate the change between each assessment to examine whether the mental strategy training will change the accumulation of pTau217.

Home-Based Closed-Loop Auditory Stimulation to Enhance Slow-Wave Activity in MCI Due to Alzheimer's Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Study

This proof-of-concept study explores whether long-term home-based closed-loop auditory stimulation during sleep enhances slow-wave activity (SWA) and yields preliminary efficacy signals in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (MCI-AD), confirmed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers or positron emission tomography (PET). The intervention is self-administered at participants' homes over an initial treatment period of 3 months, followed by a 1-month off-treatment (washout) period. Participants may then enter an optional extension phase consisting of 3 additional months of treatment followed by a second 1-month washout period, for a total study duration of up to 8 months. Participants who complete the Nana-Lab Study (NCT07402590) may be invited to provide informed consent for screening and potential enrollment in this study. All enrolled participants receive nightly active treatment during intervention periods. This study does not include randomization or a sham control group.

Telemedicine Self-examination of Speech and Memory for Rapid Detection of Cognitive Impairments Using Machine Learning Methods

Early cognitive disorders diagnosis is becoming increasingly important due to population aging. The most common causes include Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. These diseases are also manifested by changes in speech. NLP allows us to identify and classify these changes. The project aims to develop a web application for self-assessment and automated detection of cognitive disorders from speech. The application will have a form of a dialogue system using machine learning methods. The novelty of this approach is the possibility of an efficient self-assessment of a wide spectrum of the Czech population from their homes and an automated evaluation of test results. Early detection can be followed by a more detailed diagnosis and adequate treatment.

Effect of Striatal Temporal Interference Stimulation on Language Processing in Neurodegenerative Diseases

The purpose of this study is to investigate the immediate effects of non-invasive temporal interference stimulation (TIS) targeting the striatum on sentence processing and brain connectivity in patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Early Stage of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases, HearIng Relevance (SAPHIR)

The study aims to phenotype hearing in patients with early stage of neurodegenerative disorders to explore the prevalence of various hearing disorders in comparison to a control population. Specific focus is made on patients with speech-in-noise intelligibiltiy deficit despite normal tonal audiograms referred to as hidden hearing loss, with potential identification of associated biomarkers.