View clinical trials related to Alzheimer Disease.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to evaluate people with mild memory problems, those with dementia, those at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy volunteers to identify markers of AD before the changes that occur with the disease begin. The origin and markers of progression for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are relatively obscure. Despite increased understanding of the underlying biology of AD, its clinical diagnosis is still made only after progressive cognitive decline; definitive diagnosis is confirmed at autopsy. This study will examine biomarker changes over time in a distinct cohort of people with an increased risk of developing AD. The study will also identify and track biological changes that occur with progressive dementia and compare those changes to the known cognitive and emotional disturbances that characterize AD. Individuals with a first-degree relative with AD will be recruited into an at-risk cohort. They will be followed and compared to a group of healthy volunteers for a minimum of 8 years.
Alzheimer's disease is a condition marked by the deterioration of mental function. The disease usually begins in late middle life and results in death in 5 to 10 years. Patients with Alzheimer's disease typically suffer from memory loss, confusion, and disorientation. The condition has become a major medical and social problem in the United States because of the increasing number of people living beyond the age of 65. The actual cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown. Researchers believe that Alzheimer's disease, or at least a portion of cases, may be an inherited condition. As a result, many new techniques have been developed to study the genetic causes of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. Many of these genetic techniques require blood samples and a family pedigree. A pedigree is a chart, similar to a family tree, that shows a patient's family history. The purpose of this study is to collect family and psychosocial information, blood, and biopsy samples from patients with neurological diseases, their families, and normal volunteers. This information gathered will be used to learn more about diseases that affect the brain.
Agitation affects 70 to 90 percent of patients with AD. Signs of agitation include verbal and physical aggressiveness, irritability, wandering, and restlessness. These behaviors often make caring for patients at home very difficult. Trazodone and haldol are two of the most commonly prescribed drugs for agitation in AD patients. Behavior management, a non drug approach, has been effective in reducing signs of agitation. Researchers have yet to compare the effectiveness of drug versus non drug therapy to treat agitation in AD patients and determine which is the best treatment. The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, with funding from the National Institute on Aging, is conducting an agitation treatment program at 21 sites in 16 States. This study will assess which of the above treatments is most effective.
This is a randomized placebo controlled, double blind study. Patients who meet eligibility criteria and decide to participate in the study will be randomly assigned to receive either drug treatment or a placebo. Neither the patients nor the participating investigators will know who is receiving the drugs and who is receiving the placebo. Participation involves 15 outpatient clinic visits over a 68 week period. Patients take study medication at varying doses (the maximum dose is 20 mg daily), along with calcium and vitamin supplements.
Estrogen is a hormone that is dominant in the female reproductive system. In women, most estrogen is produced by the ovaries. Men produce estrogen by converting testosterone into estrogen. Because this hormone also has many beneficial effects on brain cells, it currently is being studied as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The enzyme that forms the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is promoted in the presence of estrogen. Several very small clinical studies have demonstrated improvement in cognitive function and mood measures in women with Alzheimer's disease who take estrogen.
This is a three-year study to determine if estrogens can prevent memory loss and Alzheimer's disease in women with a family history of Alzheimer's disease.
This phase IIIb trial is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 36-month study comparing the length of time of progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in subjects taking Exelon vs. placebo. Exelon is currently under review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The drug has been cleared for marketing in more than 40 countries for Alzheimer's disease to date, including all 15 member states of the European Union, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Each subject with MCI will be randomly assigned to treatment with either Exelon or placebo. Subjects assigned to Exelon will receive 1.5 to 6.0 mg bid (twice daily) (3.0 to 12 mg/day) for the majority of the study. At every regular visit scheduled every three months, patients will be given basic efficacy and safety assessments. These assessments will include evaluation of adverse events, vital signs, activities of daily living, and clinical staging scales to determine if the subject may have converted to dementia.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is launching a nationwide treatment study targeting individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition characterized by a memory deficit, but not dementia. An NIA-funded study recently confirmed that MCI is different from both dementia and normal age-related changes in memory. Accurate and early evaluation and treatment of MCI individuals might prevent further cognitive decline, including development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The Memory Impairment Study is the first such AD prevention clinical trial carried out by NIH, and will be conducted at 65-80 medical research institutions located in the United States and Canada. This study will test the usefulness of two drugs to slow or stop the conversion from MCI to AD. The trial will evaluate placebo, vitamin E, and donepezil, an investigational agent approved by the Food and Drug Administration for another use. Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) is thought to have antioxidant properties, and was shown in a 1997 study to delay important dementia milestones, such as patients' institutionalization or progression to severe dementia, by about seven months.
Galantamine is an experimental drug being evaluated in the United States for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Results from previous clinical trials suggest that galantamine may improve cognitive performance in individuals with Alzheimer's disease. It is not a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Nerve cells in the brain responsible for memory and cognitive function communicate using a chemical called acetylcholine. Research has shown that deterioration of cells that produce acetylcholine in the brain affects thought processes. Galantamine is thought to work in two ways to increase the amount of acetylcholine available in the brain. It inhibits an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine and it also stimulates the nicotinic receptors in the brain to release more acetylcholine.
This protocol is a multicenter clinical trial of melatonin for sleep disturbances associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Frequent nocturnal awakening is a common behavioral symptom of AD. Nighttime wandering and agitated behavior may result in injuries and sleep disruption for caregivers. Alternatives are sorely needed to the currently available sleep medications that have marginal efficacy and serious side effects. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the pineal gland. It has soporific effects with oral administration and is well tolerated. It enhances sleep in normal older people. Melatonin also may help sleep disturbances associated with AD; however, this remains to be proven.