Clinical Research Directory

Prediction of Cognitive Test Performance Using AI-Based Analysis of Narrative Speech

This study aims to evaluate a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based method for measuring cognitive function using speech recordings. Participants will complete a short storytelling task in which they describe a story based on an image while their voice is recorded using a computer or mobile device. The speech recordings will be analyzed using AI technology to identify patterns in speech that may be related to cognitive function. The system will then estimate scores that correspond to commonly used cognitive tests. To evaluate the accuracy of this method, the AI-generated scores will be compared with results from standard cognitive assessments administered by trained researchers. These assessments may include tests commonly used to measure memory, attention, and other cognitive abilities. The goal of this study is to determine whether speech analysis using AI can provide a convenient and efficient approach for cognitive assessment. If successful, this technology may help support early detection of cognitive decline and provide a practical tool for large-scale or remote cognitive screening.

Impact of a Cognitive Intervention Enriched With Leisure Activities in Persons With Subjective Cognitive Decline

The team "Cognitive intervention, cognitive reserve and brain plasticity", Team 10, is part of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA). The team's aim is to develop and test a multi-faceted intervention program meant to increase cognitive and brain reserve by providing cognitive stimulation through participation in cognitive training sessions and engaging leisure activities. This will be done with a partially randomized controlled double-blind preference trial with a comprehensive cohort design, in participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) recruited in Montreal and Toronto.

Chinese Classics Recitation Training in Subjective Cognitive Decline

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is considered a preclinical condition associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Effective early behavioral interventions remain limited, and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive training effects are not fully understood, particularly in culturally specific educational contexts. This randomized, assessor-blinded, controlled clinical trial will enroll 60 individuals with SCD to evaluate the effects of a six-month structured Chinese Classics recitation training program. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a non-active control group. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and during annual follow-up. Multimodal evaluations will include neuropsychological testing, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), blood biomarker profiling, gut microbiota analysis, and fecal metabolomics. The study aims to examine clinical outcomes and explore potential neurobiological and systemic correlates associated with culturally adapted cognitive training.

Under-Represented Communities Diagnosed With SCD or MCI Through Tele-Cog

Overall, this study's primary aim is to establish a prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study of older adults at risk for dementia from under-resourced/underrepresented communities. More specifically, older adults diagnosed with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) during clinical care offered via the Tele-Cog clinic would be recruited for more comprehensive data collection to characterize the clinical presentation and course of illness over multiple timepoints spread out longitudinally.

The Brain Health Champion Study

6-month, randomized, controlled investigation measuring the effect of increased clinical contact and personalization compared to standard physician counseling on adherence to consensus-based, brain health recommendations for patients with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and early dementia or patients who are at risk for developing these conditions.

dTMS for Subjective Cognitive Decline

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) is a brain stimulation technique that involves generating a brief magnetic field in a coil that is placed on the scalp. The magnetic field passes through the skull and induces a weak electrical current in the brain that briefly activates neural circuits at the stimulation site. The Brainsway dTMS H7-Coil is able to target an area of the brain that has been shown in studies to be linked to greater resilience to cognitive decline. In this study, the investigators will combine dTMS with cognitive training in older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and examine the effect of this treatment on memory, other cognitive abilities, and mood. In addition, the investigators will examine the combined effects of dTMS and cognitive training on brain activity as measured using electroencephalography (EEG). Approximately 30 older adults from ages 55 to 70 with SCD and a positive family history of Alzheimer's disease will be enrolled in this study.

Gut-brain Health Effects of PREbiotics in Older Adults With Suspected COgnitive DEcline

As people around the world are living longer, the number of individuals with dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), is expected to triple by 2050. There's growing evidence suggesting that our gut health might play a role in the prevention of dementia. The connection between our gut and brain, known as the gut-brain axis, is becoming an important area of study. Research in animals has shown that different types of dietary fibre can improve gut health, brain function, mood, blood sugar level and the immune system and may even prevent certain harmful brain changes seen in Alzheimer's disease. Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) is a condition where individuals notice a decline in their mental abilities, and it can be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease. The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if dietary fibres can improve gut and brain health in older individuals, between the ages of 60 and 79 years, who notice problems in their mental abilities, and meet the criteria of SCD. Three different dietary fibres will be given, and researchers will compare three different fibres to a placebo product to see if there is a difference between the fibres and the placebo. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does dietary fibre improve working memory? 2. Does dietary fibre improve other markers of brain function? 3. Does dietary fibre improve gut health? 4. Does dietary fibre improve the immune system and blood glucose levels? 5. Does dietary fibre improve mood? Participants will: * Consume dietary fibres twice a day, mixed in water, tea or coffee, for a period of 26 weeks * Have two functional MRI scans, and three additional study visits, where blood, urine and feces will be collected * Undergo a number of neuropsychological tests, aimed at evaluating brain function * Fill out questionnaires on their general health, mood, dietary habits, gut health * Wear smartwatches for one week, at the beginning and the end of the study

Impact of Intensive Treatment of SBP on Brain Perfusion, Amyloid, and Tau (IPAT Study)

The purpose of this study is to determine if intensive lowering of systolic blood pressure (SBP), using FDA approved medications (antihypertensive), reduces Alzheimer's Disease pathology (i.e., excessive brain amyloid and tau protein deposition) in older adults at high risk for memory decline or dementia.

Exergame-assisted Simultaneous Motor-cognitive Training for Middle-aged Old Adults in China

To develop and conduct a pilot trial on the effectiveness of a technology-based (exergame) intervention approach for the middle-aged old adults' population in China. The study will examine the feasibility of the intervention and estimate its preliminary effects in improving their physical, cognitive, and dual-task performance.

Attentional Mechanisms in SCD

This study will use an anticholinergic pharmacological probe to examine attention network function in SCD using EEG. The overall hypothesis is that in older adults with SCD, normal cognitive performance is maintained by compensatory attention network activity, supported by enhanced cholinergic function. The investigators anticipate that SCD will be associated with greater compensatory attention network activity and that disrupting this compensatory process through anticholinergic challenge will result in a greater negative effect on attentional performance (Attention Network Test, ANT) and attention network functioning (EEG) in older adults with greater subjective cognitive concern.

Internet-based Mind-Body Training for Brain Health

The goal of this study is to conduct a Stage I pilot study examining the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of an internet-based, asynchronous mindfulness-based stress reduction program (iMBSR) compared to an internet-based, asynchronous lifestyle education program (iLifeEd), for adults at-risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Sixty middle-aged and older adults (aged 50 years or older) with subjective cognitive decline will be randomized to either an 8-week iMBSR program or an 8-week iLifeEd program control group, designed to provide adequate control for placebo effects. Behavioral, neuroimaging, and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) measures of mind-wandering will be administered to determine preliminary effects as a function of engagement in the iMBSR program. AD biomarkers will be examined at pre-training and post-training assessments.

Longitudinal Study for the Characterization of the Phases of Subjective Perception of Cognitive Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and its prevalence is estimated to exceed 100 million affects by 2050, becoming the main public health problem worldwide. AD is considered a clinicopathological entity characterized by a progressive cognitive impairment with affectation of memory and other cognitive domains, which underlies a neuropathological pattern with extracellular accumulation of β-amyloid protein (Aβ) in the form of neuritic plaques, intracellular deposits of tau protein in the form of neuritic strands and neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal and synaptic loss and glial proliferation. Classically, its definitive diagnosis implied the existence of a clinical phenotype compatible with dementia, together with the neuropathological findings characteristic of the disease. More recently, evidence of clinical and biological changes leading to the dementia phase has led to the development of new diagnostic criteria that divide the course of AD into 3 stages: (1) a pre-clinical phase, which would include persons with positive biomarkers with normal cognitive performance for their age and educational level; (2) a phase of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), characterized by cognitive performance lower than expected by age and educational level; and (3) a dementia phase, once cognitive deficits interfere with the activities of daily living. Recent research has also shed light into the subdivision of each of the above-mentioned stages in distinct phases. For example, the existence of a subjective perception of cognitive decline or a subtle cognitive decline, have been postulated as phases within the AD preclinical stage. The lack of positive results in the different clinical trials performed to date in patients with AD dementia has redirected the focus of therapeutic strategies towards preventing the development of dementia. For this reason, a detailed characterization of the successive clinical and biological changes that lead to the dementia stage is of vital importance in identifying the persons who could benefit from a possible preventive strategy, as well as the optimal moment to carry out the intervention. The the scientific community, is convinced that intervention aiming to prevent the clinical development of AD dementia must be implemented several years before the first symptoms arise. In this context, the present project is developed under the hypothesis that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) in individuals with a performance in cognitive tests within normality represents the first symptomatic manifestation of AD. In persons with SCD, the presence of a higher intensity of subjective complaint quantified using a specific subjective complaint questionnaire (SCD-Q) will be associated with lower cognitive performance and a higher rate of conversion to MCI and/or dementia. The relationship between the perception of cognitive decline by the subject and his/her relative will differently vary depending on the stage of the disease: in subjects with progressive cognitive impairment, the subjective perception of cognitive decline will decrease with disease progression whereas the perception of decline will increase with disease progression in their relatives. The degree of perception of cognitive decline throughout the different phases of the disease will be correlated with cognitive and affective patterns as well as with changes in AD biomarkers. These changes will be related to specific brain patterns and abnormal levels of AD biomarkers, which on the other hand will also be present in patients with MCI and mild dementia due to AD. The present study has two main objectives that are: 1. To characterize from a cognitive and biomarker (when available) point of view persons with SCD and to study its association with the risk of presenting a progressive cognitive deterioration. 2. To study the evolution of the subjective perception of cognitive impairment by the participants and their relatives and to analyze its impact in cognitive, affective and functional terms along the clinical-biological continuum of AD.

German Validation Study of the Subjective Cognitive Decline Questionnaire (SCD-Q)

The SCD-Q (Subjective Cognitive Decline-Questionnaire) is an established instrument to quantify self-perceived cognitive decline. Both self- and informant-rated versions of the SCD-Q are available. However, the SCD-Q has not been validated in the German language yet. Hence, the investigators aim to validate the self-reported SCD-Q in a clinical sample in Germany.

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.

Developing a Peer Support Intervention for Depression in SCD

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of an 8-week intervention where peer coaches will deliver depression care to adults 60 years of age or older who have depression and subjective cognitive decline.

The Lifestyle Exercise and Diet Trial (LEAD) 2.0

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of a virtually-delivered 6-month exercise and nutrition intervention in older adults with executive subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Feasibility will be determined by recruitment, retention, and adherence rates. Preliminary changes in cognition, physical function, and quality of life will be assessed as secondary outcomes. The study will recruit 140 participants aged 65 to 80 who report they feel that their memory or other thinking abilities are declining. Participants will be randomized into one of four study arms receiving different combinations of healthy lifestyle interventions. Assessments will be conducted virtually at baseline, post-intervention (6 months), and follow-up (12 months). All intervention sessions and assessment visits will be conducted online using the Zoom Healthcare platform and participants will log on using their own devices from home.

Β-OHB Supplementation and Brain Health in Older Adults

The goal of this randomized placebo controlled crossover trial is investigate the effects of short-term ketone monoester (KME) supplementation to brain function in older adults with subjective cognitive decline. We will test the hypothesis that KME supplementation will increase cerebral blood flow and improve resting-state functional connectivity in the brain compared to placebo supplementation in older adults with subjective cognitive decline. Participants will be randomly assigned to either placebo of KME supplementation for 14 days. Following a washout period, participants will complete the alternate condition for 14 days. Outcome measures will be assessed before and after each intervention period.

China Diabetes Cognitive Dysfunction Early Diagnosis and Intervention Study (China-DECODE Study)

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and dementia are both diseases with increasing incidence and prevalence globally, leading to substantial economic burdens for families and society. Notably, diabetes significantly increases the risk of cognitive dysfunction, which is classified into preclinical stage, mild cognitive impairment and dementia based on the disease severity. Cognitive dysfunction is a critical contributor to disability and mortality in elderly diabetes patients. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for delaying disease progression, enhancing treatment efficacy, and mitigating the impact of dementia. Currently, research and clinical management of cognitive dysfunction in individuals with diabetes are in their infancy, characterized by limitations such as single-center studies, limited sample sizes, inconsistent diagnostic criteria, and insufficient data sharing. Consequently, clinical diagnosis and treatment strategies are underdeveloped, medical staff's related knowledge is lacking, and potential therapeutic targets remain unexplored. In view of these problems and shortcomings, the population cohort study is supposed to be carried out based on accurate diagnosis and constructed the high standard information and sample bank. The study will establish the standard and quality system of T2D with cognitive dysfunction cohort study (unified standards and norms). The study will integrate the standard biological samples stratified acquisition function module (homogeneity and precision) of cognitive dysfunction in T2D, and complete the construction of biological samples bank and clinical diagnosis and treatment information database. The study will apply and develop brain structural and functional imaging technology to support precision diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction in T2D.

REducing the Risk of COgnitive DEcline ad Dementia in Patients With Subjective Cognitive Decline Through an Immersive Virtual Reality and Telemedicine-based Multi-component Intervention: the SCD-ReCODED Study

Older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are at high risk of developing dementia and frequently experience subclinical symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) which are themselves associated with dementia and cognitive decline risk. To date, the lack of effective disease-modifying treatments, along with the reliable identification of modifiable lifestyle risk factors (e.g., cognitive activity, dietary habits, physical exercise), have led to growing interest to invest in non-pharmacological interventions that may reduce the prevalence and incidence of dementia and cognitive decline in older adults. In this framework, the aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) and telemedicine-based multi-component intervention, combining cognitive training and a health and lifestyle education program, for preventing cognitive decline and dementia in at-risk individuals (i.e., SCD). For this purpose, a randomized, double-blinded controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted on seventy-five eligible individuals with SCD, who will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) multi-component intervention (MC-I), including SCD-tailored cognitive IVR training plus a health and lifestyle education program, (b) cognitive-only intervention (CO-I), including the SCD-tailored cognitive IVR training plus an active control for the education program, and (c) active control intervention (AC-I) for both cognitive training and education program. Intervention will be provided in 20 at-home sessions (4 sessions/week, each lasting about 30 minutes) over a period of 5 weeks. Outcome measures include clinical, neuropsychological, behavioural and neuroimaging data that will be collected before and immediately after intervention in order to detect potentially intervention-induced changes in objective cognitive functioning (primary outcome), subjective cognitive functioning, mood, quality of life and brain connectivity (secondary outcome). Users' compliance with IVR and telemedicine approach will be also evaluated, as well as individuals' factors affecting training efficacy.

Establish Diagnostic and Prognostic Models for Preclinical AD Patients Based on Multimodal MRI, Behavioral, Genetic, and Plasma Biomarkers

To establish the diagnostic and prognostic models that could help the preclinical identification of subjects at higher risk of clinical progression to mild cognitive impairment and dementia based on combined features of baseline demographic, cognitive, behavioral, multimodal MRI, genetic, and plasma data.

Thinking About Memory: How Confident Are You in Your Memory, and Does it Change With Age?

Memory and our own beliefs and confidence in our ability to remember are important for our daily lives. For example, low confidence may hold us back from doing certain tasks, whereas misplaced high confidence in our memories may lead us to false beliefs about what has happened in the past. However, it is not fully understood how people form their beliefs about their memory abilities. These beliefs we hold about how good our memory is are form of evaluation of our own abilities known as 'metacognition'. The purpose of this study is to better understand how individuals, both with and without diagnosed memory difficulties, perform memory tasks and examine whether their metacognition of their memory performance depends on the type of memory task. That is, the study examines metacognition for different forms of memory; for example memory of our experienced life events as compared to memory for facts. There is still much more to learn about how individuals experience and think about their memories and memory abilities; and understanding this is important as some evidence suggests that good metacognition is associated with better outcomes after diagnosis of cognitive impairment. Understanding metacognitive beliefs about memory could be a route to earlier diagnosis and enable us to identify people who are likely to develop dementia.

Effects of Individualized Theta-tACS on a Working Memory Training at SCD

The aim of the study is to investigate the effects and mechanisms of action of an individualized transcranial alternating current stimulation in the theta-range (ITF-tACS) on a three day spatial working memory training in healthy older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

The Effects of Social Isolation and Social Interaction on the Risk of Dementia Progression and Brain Function in SCD (Subjective Cognitive Decline, SCD)

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of social isolation and social interaction on the risk of dementia progression and brain function in SCD 1. To explore the association between social isolation and lonely SCD populations and the occurrence and progression of MCI and AD through cross-sectional studies, cohort studies and randomized controlled trials of SCD; 2. To clarify the correlation between different carrier states, resting brain function connectivity characteristics, and dual-task walking ability of APOEε4 allele and the progression of SCD to MCI and AD during the cognitive progress of people with SCD affected by social isolation; 3. Establish a predictive model of cognitive decline from SCD to MCI and AD, and apply it to the SCD population to carry out individualized interventions; 4. Confirm the protective effect of social interaction on cognitive level and brain function in SCD patients.