View clinical trials related to Cognitive Dysfunction.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of 12 weeks of exercise on cognition in patients with end stage renal disease.
This is a prospective cohort study for cognitively normal (young and old), mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease people
Complaints about memory and thinking are common in women as they go through menopause and estrogen levels fall. The ovarian hormone estrogen is important for supporting normal cognitive function, and changes in brain activity and function occur when estrogen levels are decreased. Estrogen is also important for maintaining healthy blood vessels which also support normal cognitive function. In Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, there is significant damage to the blood vessels in the brain. This study will test whether changes in brain activity and function with the loss of estrogen are related to changes in vascular function. The investigators will measure vascular function using ultrasound, and brain activity using MRI scans in women who are enrolled in the Females, Aging, Metabolism and Exercise (FAME) study (NCT01712230). In the FAME study, healthy premenopausal women either take a medication to decrease their estrogen levels, or a placebo. This sub-study may provide new information about how estrogen affects vascular function and cognitive function, and lead to new ways to prevent or delay cognitive impairment or dementia.
The purpose of this investigation is to assess the effectiveness of a multi-disciplinary Acute Care for Elders (ACE) program dedicated to the care of patients age 70 and older admitted to Oregon Health & Science University's hospital medicine service. The ACE program will aim to improve the quality of care of older patients in the investigators hospital by implementing focused interventions and recommendations specific to geriatric needs and syndromes, including: reduced fall rate, decreased incidence and duration of delirium, early recognition and treatment of impaired mobility and function, careful minimization of medication use, prevention of unnecessary catheter and restraint use, decreased hospital readmission rates, improved transitional care following hospital discharge, and high levels of patient and referring physician satisfaction. Additionally, the ACE program aims to improve resident and student competence in treating geriatric syndromes, and to improve staff and learner satisfaction with caring for older adults. ACE programs have been well studied at other institutions, so the investigators will be implementing a program that is already standard of care, and studying the elements that are unique to OHSU. This will be a quality improvement project. Study participants will be a convenience sample of OHSU faculty, staff, residents and students who are employed by or on rotation with General Medicine Team 1 of the Medicine Teaching Service. Faculty, staff, and learners (ACE team members) will receive the ACE training. Study personnel will conduct prospective and retrospective chart review of patients admitted to the ACE service to determine outcomes as noted above.
The aim of this study is to investigate whether a combination of intensive training of visual-spatial abilities (LOCATO task) with anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) leads to an improvement in learning and memory in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to examine the underlying neuronal mechanism.
Postoperative delirium is commonly observed in elderly patients in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and during the first 2-3 days following surgical procedures. This is an important clinical problem in the geriatric surgical patient; morbidity and mortality rates are significantly higher in patients who develop delirium. At the present time, the etiology of delirium has not been precisely defined. However, studies suggest that inflammation related to the surgical stress response is an important contributing factor in inducing neuroinflammation and subsequent cognitive dysfunction and delirium. Therefore it is possible that agents which attenuate perioperative inflammation may reduce the risk of the development of delirium following surgery. Dexamethasone is a potent corticosteroid that is used by anesthesiologists primarily as an antiemetic agent. Small doses of dexamethasone have also been demonstrated to significantly reduce the release of inflammatory markers after surgery. The anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids have the potential to beneficially impact neuroinflammation and the risk of developing postoperative delirium. The aim of this randomized, controlled, double-blinded investigation is to determine if dexamethasone, administered at induction of anesthesia, can decrease the incidence of delirium at the time of discharge from the PACU and during the first 2 days following surgery.
The investigators propose to test whether curcumin nanoparticles will improve behavioral measures and biomarkers of cognition and neuroplasticity in patients with schizophrenia who are already receiving a stable dose of antipsychotic.
The drug Dexmedetomidine will be investigated in 72 patients (men and women) undergoing elective cardiac or abdominal surgery. The study medication will be administered perioperatively by intravenous infusion continuously (at the longest 48 h) to prevent/reduce the rate of Delirium and the incidence of postoperative cognitive deficit (POCD). A non-surgical control group of 15 ASA II/III- patients from Berlin and surrounding area is collected for measuring the learning experience during the cognitive testings. The participants are matched on age, education, and gender to the study patients. Cognitive testings are performed in patients of the study group (n= 72) and the control group (n= 15) to evaluate deficits in their cognitive areas (POCD (Postoperative cognitive deficit)) at three different time points up to three months.
Aging modifies the metabolic pathway of the neurotransmitter serotonin by reducing the synthesis rate and increasing the breakdown rate of serotonin, possibly related to the observed enhanced sensitivity of the serotonergic pathway. Since serotonin plays a prominent role in neuropsychological functions such as anxiety, mood and memory, the enhanced sensitivity of the serotonergic pathway in aging can probably explain the fact that elderly are more vulnerable to develop cognitive deficits and depressive symptoms. Serotonin synthesis in brain is regulated by its precursor tryptophan (TRP). Because tryptophan is an essential amino acid, modifying the availability of tryptophan through dietary intake, can directly influence central serotonin metabolism and consequently affective and cognitive processes. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that an acute intake of whey protein with high levels of TRP such as alpha-lactalbumin can stabilize the metabolism of serotonin and subsequently enhance metabolic and cognitive functions in healthy older adults. The acute effects of this dietary protein will be investigated in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia, compared to control subjects in order to examine whether healthy older subject with MCI benefit more from the intake of alpha-lactalbumin and/or whey. The investigators will investigate if this meal can optimize serotonin metabolism by elevating plasma TRP levels and plasma TRP appearance and enhance splanchnic TRP extraction. In addition, the effects on mood and cognitive functions will be examined.
The potential for nattokinase to "thin" blood and to reduce blood clotting by positive antithrombotic and fibrinolytic effects presents a unique opportunity to safely study such effects on cardiovascular disease and cognition. Unfortunately, such studies of antithrombotic and fibrinolytic pathways of prevention have been limited due to lack of safe compounds and the adverse reactions associated with current agents such as Coumadin. Nattokinase, an over-the-counter supplement used for cardiovascular health, is the most active functional constituent of natto, a fermented soy product. Natto has been consumed primarily by the Japanese for over 1000 years, a population with one of the lowest risks for cardiovascular disease and dementia. Cardiovascular disease and dementia remain the most challenging age-related health risks of the 21st century for Americans necessitating development of further effective preemptive strategies. Whether reducing the propensity for thrombus formation and/or increasing fibrinolytic activity can prevent the progression of atherosclerosis and cognitive decline has not yet been determined. Using nattokinase under primary prevention conditions, the investigators propose to conduct a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to determine whether decreasing atherothrombotic risk can reduce the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis and cognitive decline. The investigators propose to randomize 240 healthy non-demented women and men to nattokinase supplementation or to placebo for three years. The primary trial endpoints will be measurement of carotid arterial wall thickness and arterial stiffness, early changes of atherosclerosis that can be measured safely by non-invasive imaging techniques. The secondary trial endpoint will be ascertained through change in cognition measured by a neuropsychological battery. In addition, biochemical blood measurements and in vitro studies will be conducted to compare the effects of nattokinase relative to placebo on blood coagulation and thrombus break-down capabilities, blood flow properties, inflammation and inflammatory activation of endothelial cells that line blood vessels.