View clinical trials related to Dementia.
Filter by:To follow-up on the safety of subjects who were previously treated in a double-blind trial of brexpiprazole.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative brain disease with symptoms that include memory loss, problems with impulse control, and depression that can lead to suicide. As the disease progresses, it can lead to dementia. Currently CTE can only be diagnosed postmortem where an over-accumulation of a protein called tau is observed. There is now a new experimental measure that makes it possible, for the first time, to measure tau protein in the living human brain using a novel positron emission tomography (PET) ligand, [F-18] AV-1451 (aka, [18F]-T807). The main objective of this study is to use a novel PET approach to measure tau accumulation in the brain. The presence of CTE at autopsy in deceased National Football League (NFL) players has been well documented. Accordingly, we will conduct this study in a group of retired NFL players who have clinical symptoms of CTE and are suspected of having CTE based on high levels of tau in their spinal fluid and abnormalities seen on research brain scans. We will compare them with a control group of former elite level athletes who have not experienced any brain trauma, deny any clinical symptoms, and who have completely normal spinal fluid tau and amyloid levels, and brain scans. We will also include a group of subjects with AD. All participants will be recruited from ongoing studies, headed by the Partnering PI of this proposal, Dr. Robert Stern, at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Alzheimer's Disease Center. We will use both a beta amyloid PET scan ([18F]-florbetapir) and a tau PET scan ([18F]-T807) on consecutive days. With the beta amyloid scan we expect little or no evidence of amyloid in the NFL players with presumed CTE, and no evidence of amyloid in the control group of athletes with no history of repetitive brain trauma. In contrast we expect to see beta amyloid accumulation in the AD patient brains. With the new tau ligand, we expect that the NFL players with presumed CTE will show elevated levels of tau protein in the brain, which will not be observed in athletes without a history of brain trauma, but which will be seen in the AD patients' brains. Another goal is to use the latest MRI technologies to develop specific tau imaging biomarkers that correlate with the PET and spinal fluid tau measures but without the radiation of PET or invasiveness of spinal taps. The development of these surrogate imaging markers of tau, is critically important to diagnosing CTE. This in turn will lead to studies relevant to treatment and prevention of this devastating disease. Finally, as an exploratory method of examining possible genetic risk for CTE, we will also use cutting edge genetic analysis of blood samples from subjects in this proposal and compare tau load, measured by PET tau ligand uptake and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau level, with a measure of genetic susceptibility to tau load, referred to as the genetic risk score for tau.
Alzheimer's Dementia (AD) is a major public health problem. Apathy, a profound loss of motivation, is seen in majority of patients with AD. Dysfunction of the front of the brain and loss of dopamine, a type of neurochemical, in this part of brain results in apathy. Presence of apathy is linked to deficits in planning sequential tasks such as keeping a routine. Patients with apathy have poor physical function and their caregivers experience extra burden. Unfortunately there are no good medications to treat apathy. FDA has approved the use of brain stimulation by a magnet known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), for treatment of depression. rTMS increases dopamine when applied to frontal lobe of brain so we propose that rTMS would be a good treatment option for apathy in AD. Study hypotheses include that rTMS to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) will improve apathy and executive function better than sham treatment in those with AD.
This is a Phase II, Single-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Sequential Treatment, Multiple Ascending Dose Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of CPC-201 in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease Type Dementia.
This study is to test the feasibility (pilot part) and efficacy (phase IIa part) of a specifically on the needs of caregivers of people with dementia composed new short-term psychotherapeutical intervention.
The goals of this three-year research project were: 1) to develop and evaluate the feasibility of the Wheelchair-bound Senior Elastic Band (WSEB) for the demented, wheelchair-bound seniors in long-term care facilities, 2) to evaluate the long-term effects of the instructor-led WSEB on the functional fitness, daily life function, depression, and problem behaviors of this senior population, and 3) to test the feasibility, compliance, and effectiveness of the DVD-led WSEB on this senior population.
Maraviroc is an antiretroviral medication that may help in improving mental function in HIV infected patients with mental problems by decreasing inflammatory tendencies. We will test this in a clinical trial of 42 HIV infected individuals with some mild to moderate mental problems who are already on HIV medications and doing well. We will add Maraviroc or a sugar pill to their HIV medications and see if mental function improves over 48 weeks. This study will be conducted at 2 sites in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Regular physical activity improves physical and mental health and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity and premature death from any cause. Unfortunately the majority of adults are not active enough to reap these benefits. People who are inactive and at high risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and dementia, and who may benefit from increased activity can be identified in primary care by combining standard risk tools. These high risk patients can be offered physical activity programmes that are designed to increase longterm adherence. Aerobic dance is an activity that combines physical, social and cognitive stimulation and allows easily adjusted intensity levels to meet individual needs. Engagement in an activity program also provides opportunities to offer advice on healthy nutrition and associated meal preparation skills. Information technology can be used to increase activity participation. Video materials can be produced to guide activity participation at home, thereby increasing overall activity participation. The investigators propose a feasibility study of a multimodal dance-based physical activity and nutrition intervention aimed at patients at high risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and dementia, in primary care settings.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of liraglutide on the memory and attention of people with insulin resistance. Liraglutide is a medication that makes the body more sensitive to insulin, and therefore may allow it to manage sugar more effectively. The investigators are looking specifically at a region of the brain that is associated with memory and attention, called the hippocampus, in order to see whether treatment this treatment will change performance on memory and attention tasks. The investigators are also taking an MRI of the brain to see whether there are changes to the size and shape of the hippocampus after treatment. All subjects in this study will be 50-70 years old and have pre- diabetes. Half of all subjects will have a family history of dementia, while the other half will not.
Quetiapine, a second generation antipsychotic, is only available as oral tablets. However, topical and rectal formulations have been produced in compounding pharmacies. There is no data available suggesting that topical or rectal formulations provide serum levels similar to oral medication. In the clinical setting, when oral administration of quetiapine is not possible (for example, when a patient is extremely ill physically or mentally or both), clinicians and pharmacists have collaborated in such cases and have at times had to administer quetiapine compounded in other dosage formulations such as rectal or topical formulations. Despite clinical effectiveness of these other formulations, there are no available studies that have investigated blood levels of the drug other than the oral form. The investigators are therefore designing this pharmacokinetic study to evaluate the the systemic absorption of quetiapine in oral, rectal and topical formulations. If the investigators are able to demonstrate detectable levels from rectal and topical quetiapine formulations compared to the oral form, this knowledge will enhance clinical psychiatric practice by providing a more broad route of administration for quetiapine which is a commonly used drug for psychiatric symptoms.