View clinical trials related to Dementia.
Filter by:Around 10% of stroke survivors develop dementia within 3 months after stroke and over 20% more stroke patients have dementia in the subsequent 3 years. Previous studies documented a close relationship between stroke and Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are, however, no reliable biomarkers to detect cognitive dysfunction and dementia among stroke patients or to predict the risks of vascular dementia (VD) and AD among patients with stroke. There is a clear need to identify novel mediators of cognitive dysfunction in stroke patients to provide insights into the pathogenesis, to tailor clinical care based on risks, and to develop new therapeutic strategies. While the expression of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) account for only ~1% of all transcribed species, up to 90% of the mammalian genome is transcribed as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a heterogeneous group of non-coding transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides. LncRNAs have been shown to be functional and involved in specific physiological and pathological processes through epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. While the roles of lncRNAs in human diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders are beginning to emerge, it remains unclear how lncRNA regulation contributes to cognitive dysfunction and dementia in stroke patients. In this proposal, we seek to apply next-generation sequencing technology to investigate circulating lncRNA expression, as well as exosomal RNAs in the subjects with and without cognitive dysfunction or dementia. In addition, we will apply the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to evaluate cerebral blood flow, metabolism and oxygenation in these subjects. We will test the hypothesis that circulating lncRNA/exosomal RNA signature and NIRS imagaing can reflect the cognitive states in stroke patients. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the lncRNA-exosomal RNA-NIRS-based cognitive dysfunction scoring system will then be tested in an independent, large validation cohort. Next, we propose to test the hypothesis that circulating lncRNAs/exosomal RNA and NIRS imaging can be novel prognostic biomarkers to predict cognitive dysfunction and dementia in stroke patients. These studies will also establish a set of novel, lncRNA-based diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in stroke patients to improve clinical preventive and therapeutic care.
EPIC II (Early-Stage Partners in Care) is a research project designed to assist people with early-stage memory loss and their care partners by providing early-stage related education and skill-training sessions, held via Zoom, designed to reduce stress, enhance well-being, manage challenges, and plan for the future. Researchers will gather feedback from individuals about their experience to continue to improve programs for early-stage memory loss.
The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical application of advanced ophthalmic imaging devices such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), retinal function imager (RFI), slit-lamp biomicroscopy (SLB), PERG in diseased eyes and normal controls. There are two phases in this study. The first phase is an observational phase which studies the eye in various conditions. The second phase is an interventional phase which studies the changes in the eyes after taking an over-the-counter medical food (Ocufolin) for 6 months.
This study evaluates the effect of a physical exercise + caregiver skills training on feelings of burden, mood, and biological markers of inflammation in persons who provide care for Veterans with a TBI or dementia. Half of the caregivers will participate in a balance and flexibility + caregiver skills training program, while the other half will participate in a moderate/high intensity aerobic and resistance + caregiver skills training program.
An urgent need exists to identify effective interventions to arrest or reverse dementia and cognitive loss at its earliest stages. The proposed pilot randomized clinical trial will investigate the short and long-term effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on cognitive functioning, cerebral blood flow, and glucose uptake in diabetic elderly with mild cognitive impairment. and provide the basis for a large-scale multi-center study of hyperbaric oxygen therapy effects on cognition in diabetes. The potential to preserve, or even enhance, cognition in elderly at high risk of cognitive decline and dementia has major implications for the affected individuals and their support systems that bear the social and financial burdens of long-term caregiving.
The estimated annual cost of dementia in Canada is $15 billion, with a projected cumulative economic burden of $800 billion by 2038. Effective prevention of dementia at a population level will need to include lifestyle factors such as promoting higher levels of physical activity. Physical inactivity is a modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD) and cognitive decline, but the mechanisms by which physical activity exerts its protective effect on the brain remain unknown. Motivated by the need to develop strategies to prevent and treat AD and related dementias (ADRD), the investigators' overall research goal is to discover why the aging brain develops ADRD. To achieve this goal the investigators adopt a translational physiology approach (i.e., study of physiology from molecule/cell to population) to investigate how exercise improves cognitive performance, and the underlying mechanisms by which exercise prevents and/or slows down age-related declines in brain health and cognition. This approach allows the investigators to determine how physiological function is related to ADRD, with important implications for health. The investigators' prior work demonstrated a significant relationship between fitness, vascular regulation and cognition in older adults free of overt disease. These findings have implications for vascular cognitive impairment and ADRD, in which hypoperfusion and dysregulation of cerebral blood flow are thought to be important pathophysiological factors. The investigators' central hypothesis is that regular aerobic exercise mitigates age-related decreases in vascular function and cerebrovascular reserve, which in turn benefits cognition. Work by the investigators and others has provided the necessary data justifying a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the role of exercise in the prevention of ADRD. The investigators are well equipped to undertake this trial; the investigators have dedicated institutional support and necessary expertise in vascular regulation, cognition, aging, neuroimaging and genetics. The overall objective of this proposal is to test an exercise intervention for secondary prevention of ADRD in adults between 50 and 80 years old who are at increased risk for ADRD (with memory impairment symptoms but without dementia). The rationale for this trial is the urgent need for dementia prevention: an exercise intervention, which harnesses a translational physiology framework, holds such promise. The investigators will conduct this trial to determine the effects of aerobic exercise on the development of age-associated cognitive decline and dementia. The exercise intervention is designed with input from Alberta Health Services, the universal healthcare provider for Albertans, so that the intervention can be readily adopted into clinical practice if this trial is successful. The trial will address three specific aims. SPECIFIC AIM 1: Determine the independent effect of exercise on cognitive performance in previously inactive older adults at increased risk of ADRD. The investigators hypothesize that participants randomized to our six-month aerobic exercise intervention will perform better on cognitive tests, compared to control participants randomized to a stretching-toning exercise group. SPECIFIC AIM 2: Determine underlying biological mechanisms that influence cognitive performance after exercise training. The investigators hypothesize that exercise improves cognition due to changes at molecular/cellular (biomarkers), vascular (cerebral blood flow, cerebrovascular reserve), anatomical and functional (neuroimaging), and behavioural (sleep quality) levels. Further, the investigators hypothesize that ADRD-specific genetic risk scores, reflective of targeted genetic variants, moderate exercise-related cognitive and brain outcomes. SPECIFIC AIM 3: Determine the extent to which changes in cognition, resting cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reserve persist 12 months after participants complete a 6-month exercise training intervention. The investigators hypothesize that the effects of improved aerobic fitness will be maintained over time as a function of persistent lifestyle changes and behavioural support programs. This trial will provide evidence needed to make clinical recommendations for exercise programs in adults at risk for ADRD, with the goal of preventing dementia. Given the investigators' extensive stakeholder input, this intervention will be easily translated to other jurisdictions. This research into the mechanisms of effect for exercise will identify patient subgroups most likely to benefit, surrogate outcome markers for use in future trials to refine intervention dose/duration, and new therapeutic targets for future interventions.
The objective of the ADDIA clinical Proof-of-Performance study is to validate the performance of ADDIA' blood biomarkers for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). ADDIA clinical study is a multi-centre, non-interventional, prospective, proof-of-performance study with only one visit. About 800 well-characterized subjects will be recruited into 3 groups in 2:1:1 ratio, namely patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), patients with non-AD neurodegenerative disease (NAD) and 200 control subjects (healthy as compared to their age). - 400 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD): 200 patients with mild AD, 200 patients with moderate-to-severe AD, - 200 patients with non-Alzheimer's neurodegenerative diseases (NAD), - 200 controls (healthy as compared to their age).
The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of perspective-taking reappraisals on the well-being of adult-child dementia caregivers.
Motor slowing and cognitive slowing are more prevalent as we age. Importantly, the presence of both in an older person increases their risk of having dementia by ten times. Currently, there are no clinically meaningful predictors of progression to dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The main hypothesis is that subtle variations in gait while performing a simple cognitive task is a reliable, easy to perform, and feasible methodology to detect those older adults at higher risk of progression to dementia and also, at higher risk of further mobility decline and falls. Rationale. The Canadian population is aging. According to recent estimates, the proportion of the population aged 65 and older will increase rapidly from 13% in 2005 to 25% by 2031. This increase in proportion is accompanied by a considerable amount of disability and subsequent dependency which has major effects on both the quality of life of older adults and their caregivers, and on the Canadian health care system. An important goal of geriatric medicine is to reduce the gap between life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy by reducing disability and dependency in the later years of life. A substantial portion of this disability stems from two major geriatric syndromes: cognitive impairment and mobility limitation. The ultimate manifestations of these syndromes are dementia and falls. Interestingly, these manifestations often coexist in elderly people: falling is a common geriatric syndrome affecting about a third of older adults each year, and dementia affects about a third of Canadians aged 80 and over. Together, dementia and falls are responsible for much of the discomfort, disability, and health care utilization in older adults and each will become more prevalent as older Canadians are expected to number approximately $9 million by 2031. The combined direct cost of dementia and falls for the Canadian Health System is over $4.9 billion per year. Establishing reliable and easy to obtain predictors to accurately identify MCI patients at highest risk of progressing to dementia is essential first, to determine who will benefit from additional and/or invasive testing and second, to implement preventative strategies, including cognitive training, physical exercises, and aggressive vascular risk factors correction to delay progression. Even a modest one-year delay in dementia incidence could save Canada $109 billion over 30 years.
The study is designed to characterize the clinical, neuropsychological, polysomnographic, and neuroimaging findings among subjects with Alzheimer's disease, Lewy Body dementia, and Parkinsons' Disease.