View clinical trials related to Cognitive Dysfunction.
Filter by:ICU-acquired weakness represents a common and often devastating disease process which affects greater than 50% of critically ill patients. This pathogenesis of this acquired disease is multifactorial and results in variable severity, ranging from mild, transient to severe, permanent dysfunction of peripheral nerves in additional to muscle. In affected patients, weakness may persist for months to years after the acute phase of their illness, and has been implicated as a major contributor to decreased functional status and quality of life. Muscle ultrasound has been validated for assessment of muscle size as well as diagnosis of myopathic and neuropathic changes in patients with other known neuromuscular diseases. The use of muscle ultrasound or other imaging modalities for diagnosis or monitoring of ICU-acquired weakness has not been studied, although a single study using muscle ultrasound has shown significant change in muscle size in ICU patients receiving high dose corticosteroids and a prolonged course of paralytic agents. The investigators plan to use multiple modalities to examine skeletal muscle catabolism, function, and structure in patients during critical illness and recovery. The investigators will combine physical exam, hand grip dynamometry, electrophysiologic studies, serum biomarkers, muscle biopsies, and muscle ultrasound to assess a group of critically ill patients during their hospital stay. The investigators will obtain additional data, including neuropsychiatric assessments, severity of illness scores, administration of potentially harmful medications, and pertinent daily laboratory data. This study will last approximately 12 months.
Compared with cognitively normal older adults, those with mild cognitive problems (MCI) have a two-fold higher rate of falls, sustain more fractures, and have a higher rate of mortality due to falls. Why older adults with cognitive problems fall more frequently is not completely understood. What is known, however, is that attention is a necessary cognitive resource for normal walking and impairments in attention are associated with increased risk of falls in older adults. It has been suggested that cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI), medications used for treatment of dementia, may improve motor function and walking (gait performance). Since ChEI are known to improve attention, we hypothesized that ChEI will reduce falls risk in people with MCI by improving their gait velocity, improving their balance, and reducing their gait variability; a well-established risk factor for falls. In the proposed study, we will evaluate the effect of donepezil (ChEI) on gait velocity, gait variability, and the balance on 140 elderly individuals with MCI (70 intervention and 70 controls). Gait variables will be measured using an electronic walkway, and balance confidence using a validated scale (Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale; ABC) over four months. By characterizing and understanding the effects of cognitive enhancers on fall risk in older adults with cognitive impairments, we will be able to pave the way for a new approach to fall prevention in this population. We would establish that medications that augment cognitive function could be a complementary therapeutic option for reducing fall risk in people with MCI. This may lead to new approaches to prevent and treat fall risk in this population, which will lead to improve the autonomy and quality of life of seniors in early stage of dementia, and a decreased burden for the Ontario health care system.
The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of the consumption of two different dietary patterns (low fat versus Mediterranean Diet) on the incidence of cardiovascular events of persons with coronary disease.
The progressive aging of the general population cause increase in number of extensive and long surgeries in older patients. Age is a risk factor for perioperative myocardial ischemia and Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD) The suggested study will deal with the above-mentioned complication in patients older then 65 years undergoing major non-cardiac surgeries. It has been shown that Isoflurane and sevoflurane may have a cardio-protective effect after cardiac surgery involving cardio-pulmonary bypass, and it was recommended that isoflurane should be used in these cases. A question was raised but haven't been answered yet, whether this cardio-protective effect exists also in non-cardiac major surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether there is a difference in the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction and perioperative myocardial ischemia between total intravenous anesthesia using propofol and isoflurane based anesthesia.
The overall goal of this project is to determine the feasibility of conducting a cognitive intervention for children with sickle cell disease.
Probands with MCI are at high risk to develop Alzheimer´s dementia (AD). Simvastatin may lower the production of Amyloid, a hallmark of AD in the brain. The primary hypothesis of the study is that 60 mg Simvastatin significantly reduces the Clinical Dementia Rating -Sum of boxes (CDR-SOB) in individuals with MCI as compared to MCI receiving placebo or 20 mg Simvastatin
The purpose of this study is to develop and test the feasibility of using a specific pharmacological protocol to reduce delirium burden among older adults in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The study will test the efficacy of a pharmacological intervention in reducing delirium severity and duration as well as length of stay and mortality compared to usual care.
The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of EGb761®, in comparison to placebo, on cerebral glucose metabolism, in three groups of elderly patients: newly diagnosed mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), memory complaint patients with cognitive impairment (MC) and memory complaint patients cognitively normal (CNE). The first phase includes four weeks treatment with EGb761® for all groups, with change in brain glucose metabolism at month 1 using 18 FDG-PET, as primary endpoint which will be followed by an open 17 months follow-up (FU) period with EGb761® treatment in MC and CNE patients.
This is a 8-week double-blind placebo controlled parallel group study of the efficacy of varenicline (Chantix) for smoking cessation in schizophrenic patients, and its effect on cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.At some sits evaluation of smoking measures is extended to 12 weeks. Correlations will be made with biological predictors of efficacy: a) measures of nicotinic receptors in lymphocytes b) DNMT1 and GAD67 mRNA in lymphocytes. Subjects will be current cigarette smokers or history of regular smokers.
The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety of donepezil hydrochloride (Aricept) in the treatment of the cognitive dysfunction shown by children with Down syndrome, aged 11 to 17.