View clinical trials related to Aging.
Filter by:The menopause transition is associated with a decrease in artery health and an increased risk for weight gain in storing fat in the stomach area which may increase the risk for heart disease. The purpose of this research is to study how the decrease in estrogen at menopause changes artery health and fat gain, and risk of disease in women as they age. The first aim in this study will determine whether short term and long term low estrogen levels in premenopausal women decreases artery function and whether this is related to an increase in fat in the stomach area. The second aim will determine whether the changes in artery health and body fat are related to changes in a pathway that breaks down an important amino acid called tryptophan. This pathway is thought to play a role in regulating the aging process. Therefore, the investigators will determine whether the decrease in artery health and the increase in body fat in the stomach region with low estrogen is related to changes in this pathway in the blood, in vascular cells and fat tissue. Because estrogen levels fluctuate in premenopausal women, the investigators will use an approach (intervention) that controls estrogen levels to address these aims. The investigators will use a medication that is typically used to treat endometriosis or uterine fibroids to lower estrogen levels and an estrogen patch to increase estrogen in some women. Some women will receive a patch that has no estrogen (called a placebo patch). The intervention period will be 20 weeks. The study will provide us with new knowledge on how low estrogen with menopause affects artery health and fat gain estrogen.
This trial will examine whether interrupting 3.5 hours of sitting every 30 min with 6 min high intensity interval training (HIIT) breaks compared to light intensity interval training (LIIT) will improve brain health in cognitively normal older adults. This trial will test the feasibility of HIIT breaks to sitting. It will also address several important but unanswered questions: (1) Does interrupting sitting with short HIIT breaks improve frontoparietal function? (2) Can interrupting sitting with HIIT breaks improve cognitive functions?
The current project is dedicated to creating a comprehensive cognitive and neural assessment platform and corresponding norms tailored specifically to the older adults in Macau.
The goal of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial is to verify if 3-month oral supplementation with resveratrol can enhance the oocyte quality in advanced maternal age women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Participants will take a daily capsule of resveratrol or placebo during the 3 months preceding their IVF treatment. They will then follow the same treatment protocol as non-participant patients.
Older veterans with a history of mild brain trauma exhibit early cognitive challenges, especially in driving-related tasks. This is attributed to alterations in the brain's excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance. This pilot project investigates this phenomenon by leveraging electroencephalography (EEG) to measure parietal lobe alpha rhythms during visual attention tasks. The hypothesis is that targeted visual attention training can modulate these alpha rhythms, improving instrumental activities in daily life. However, outcomes from such training vary, possibly due to individual differences in cortical inhibitory functions. This study will assess the relationship between EEG measures of E/I balance pre- and post-visual attention training and its effects on processing speeds in aging veterans. Our findings aim to provide a foundation for customized therapies and interventions for veterans with and without a history of brain trauma.
Spatial navigation is a high-level cognitive function that enables humans to orientate themselves and move around in space by constructing a mental representation of the environment. It is particularly interesting because it involves numerous neural networks, linked to proprioception and vision, for example. Despite the versatility of this cognitive function, spatial navigation is little studied clinically, although changes in spatial planning and navigation strategies have been associated with many brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (Coughlan et al., 2018). This may be explained in view of the neuropsychological tests currently in use, which do not effectively assess spatial navigation disorders. In addition, many non-pathological parameters - in particular socio-demographic and lifestyle - (Wolbers & Hegarty, 2010; Coutrot et al., 2018) affect spatial navigation performance. Separating the pathological component from these non-pathological factors in spatial navigation can be challenging. In this context, Sea Hero Quest (SHQ) has been developed (Coutrot et al., 2018; Spiers et al., 2021) as an international-scale cognitive spatial navigation task that holds great promise for assessing spatial navigation performance during normal and pathological ageing. SHQ is a video game that implements classic tasks from the spatial cognition literature, and has enabled the trajectories of 4 million players with varied socio-demographic profiles to be collected. In addition to the direct measurement of spatial displacements, eye movements, measured by eye-tracking, provide additional information on the cognitive processes associated with visual attention. The analysis of eye movements can provide valuable information about the strategies employed by humans during spatial navigation (Zhu et al., eLife 2023). While it is well known that normal ageing and pathological ageing (e.g. in the context of Alzheimer's disease) affect performance in simple spatial navigation or visual attention tasks, the neurocognitive mechanisms involved in this deterioration remain poorly understood. The investigators hypothesise that the joint analysis of ocular and spatial traces will provide a more detailed understanding of the cognitive strategies deployed during a spatial navigation task, and therefore of these underlying mechanisms. The investigators therefore propose to jointly study the association between two complementary cognitive functions: spatial navigation and visual attention, and their relationship with normal and pathological ageing (confirmed Alzheimer's disease, plasma biomarkers and genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease). The joint analysis of these different signals has never been carried out as part of research into normal ageing and Alzheimer's disease.
This clinical study, designed as a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, aims to investigate the potential of nicotinamide riboside (NR) to decelerate functional decline in the elderly frail population. In animal studies, NR, which is converted to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), has shown potential as a neuroprotective agent, with indications of protection against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, aging is commonly associated with decreased tissue NAD levels, a phenomenon linked to premature aging and a spectrum of age-related disorders, including cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Existing preclinical and clinical research highlights the promise of NAD replenishment through enhanced DNA repair, sirtuin activity, and improved mitochondrial function. The research center has conducted two phase II clinical trials on NR for Parkinson's disease (NAD-PARK and NR-SAFE), administering up to 3000 mg of NR daily. These trials have shown promising results, indicating NR's potential as a treatment that may alter the course of the disease and possibly as neuroprotective treatment in Parkinson's disease. The NAD age trial primarily aims to determine: - The efficacy of NAD therapy in improving clinical symptoms of frailty, evaluated through standardized physical and cognitive function tests. - The safety of administering 2000 mg NR daily in an elderly frail population. The study will include 100 individuals, classified as frail based on the Fried Frailty Phenotype. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either 2000 mg of NR daily or a placebo. Over a 52-week period, participants will undergo: - Clinical evaluations, including actigraphy and questionnaires. - Cognitive assessments. - Bio sampling. - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). - Positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scanning. The outcomes of this study could potentially demonstrate that NR effectively reduces signs of frailty, offering considerable advantages to the individuals affected, their families, and society as a whole.
The goal of this observational study is to learn about the effect of leisure activities on aging anxiety of middle-aged (45-59) women. The main question it aims to answer is: Do the leisure activities (doing sports, playing music instruments, doing handicrafts, writing, taking care of a pet, growing plants, dancing etc.) affect the aging anxiety level of middle-aged women? Participants will be required to fill out a form querying their socio-demographic information, medical histories, and regular leisure activities. Subsequently, the "Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Women" will be applied.
Preclinical data indicate that very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets (KD) may prevent progression of age-related sarcopenia (skeletal muscle decline) but also may disturb bone metabolism. The investigators will pilot test a randomized trial comparing the effects of short-term adaptation to a well-formulated ketogenic diet and Mediterranean diet on markers of bone metabolism and muscle function in older adults. The expected results will help inform the benefit-risk assessment for older patients considering longer term use of KD therapy.
The objective of the pilot study (feasibility study) is to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the developed 2EAT dietary treatment in obese older adults (55+). For ecological reasons, the goal of the dietary treatment plan is to achieve an intake of 60% plant-based proteins in older adults (55+) in a healthy and nutritionally adequate way during a period of weight loss. The investigators developed the new dietary treatment plan for 6 months (RCT). To further optimize the new treatment plan the 2EAT study includes this feasibility study with a duration of 8 weeks. In the feasibility study, the effect of a more plant-based hypocaloric diet on the protein intake of older adults (55+) with obesity is evaluated. To assess the feasibility of the treatment plan, 20 obese older adults will follow the newly developed dietary treatment for 8 weeks. The participants will be guided by experienced dieticians that are part of the study consortium, in their dietetic practice. All dieticians will be trained to execute the 2EAT dietary treatment plan. The desired effect of the treatment is that participants change their protein intake and achieve an intake of 1.2 g/kg/d of which 60% is from plant-based sources. Additionally, the experience of both the older adults as well as the experience of the dieticians will be monitored during the 8 weeks of intervention. During 8 weeks there will be continuous monitoring of the implementation of the treatment plan by keeping logbooks (dieticians), and measurement of the food intake of the participants. When participants deviate from the diet, the dietician must make timely adjustments with available behavioral techniques. The primary outcome of the feasibility phase is the protein intake: source (plant-based vs. animal-based), amount (g/kg/day) and protein quality per meal (amino acid score). Secondary outcomes are the body weight and BMI of participants and qualitative information about the experience of participants and dieticians with the use of the new treatment plan. Dieticians are professionals in working with older clients with obesity during a weight loss program, and are competent to execute the treatment plan and additionally monitor and make adjustments to coach the participant towards the desired diet and goal. Findings and experiences from the 8-week feasibility study will be used to further improve the 2EAT dietary treatment. The optimized dietary plan will eventually be used in the RCT study.