View clinical trials related to Healthy Aging.
Filter by:The prevalence of age-related chronic diseases (like obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) is mounting worldwide, reaching pandemic proportions. These age-related chronic diseases are associated with diminished skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in humans. Nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme that regulates mitochondrial function, therefore, plays an important role in energy metabolism. Importantly, it has been shown that high cellular NAD+ levels as well as a high NAD+/NADH ratio promote metabolic and mitochondrial health. In contrast, NAD+ bioavailability declines upon aging in humans as well as in animal models of metabolic disorders and type 2 diabetes. These findings fuel the notion of boosting the NAD+ bioavailability in order to improve metabolic disturbances and mitochondrial dysfunction in aged individuals. Supplementation with nicotinamide riboside (NR), a naturally occurring form of vitamin B3, boosts cellular NAD+ levels. However, in contrast to animal studies, NR supplementation in humans has so far been unsuccessful in improving skeletal muscle mitochondrial function, exercise capacity or insulin sensitivity. Interestingly, Recently, it has been suggested that metabolic conditions where NAD+ levels become limited, is needed for NR supplementation to exert beneficial health effects. This metabolic condition could be achieved by exercise. However, studies combining NR and exercise are lacking, and that is why we will perform the present study.
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and may contribute to 60-70 % of all cases. An early, accurate diagnosis of AD will become increasingly important with disease-modifying therapies. Different types of fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers are available for the early detection of AD. However, implementation of routine use of these biomarkers in clinical settings is held back due to the risk of overdiagnosis, increased cost and invasiveness of the assessment method. Therefore, novel biomarkers are needed beyond the amyloid and tau pathologies for the early diagnosis of AD. Neuropsychological paper and pencil tests can detect AD and discriminate between different clinical stages. Since medial temporal lobe structures, including the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (EC), are involved in spatial navigation and degenerate in the earliest stages of AD, spatial navigation can be considered as an early cognitive biomarker of the disease. Nonetheless, the measurement of spatial navigation needs further improvement since the current paper and pencil tests lack ecological validity. Therefore, the test environment should be set up in immersive Virtual Reality (iVR). Dr. Andrea Castegnaro (Space and Memory Lab of University College of London) developed the Allocentric Spatial Update Task (ALLO task), which is an iVR task measuring egocentric and allocentric spatial abilities. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate whether allocentric and egocentric spatial navigation, measured by the ALLO iVR task can be considered a cognitive biomarker for the early detection of AD. In addition, the investigators want to report on the neuronal correlates of both spatial navigation strategies. Through the Department of Neurology of the University Hospital of Ghent, which has a large cognitive disorders clinic, patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's dementia will be recruited. Participants will undergo standard clinical assessment, including a neuropsychological examination, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET and a Lumbar Puncture. In addition, participants will also be asked to undergo Tau PET imaging, Amyloid PET imaging and complete the ALLO iVR task. Healthy controls will also be recruited and have to undergo the same investigations, except for the amyloid PET and lumbar puncture.
The aging population is rapidly increasing, and it is important to identify dietary factors that can prevent disease and promote health in this group. Legumes, such as peanuts, are a plant-based food high in protein and unsaturated fat making this a healthy choice, but are not consumed frequently enough in older adults. Studies have shown that regular nut consumption is associated with lower adiposity and reduced weight gain and inflammation. Given these findings, this study will examine the postprandial effects of meals with 2 levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA) on metabolic endotoxemia, inflammation and satiety, using a randomized cross-over design. The low SFA meal includes peanuts that are high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and this will be compared to a high SFA meal. The results of this study have the potential to provide valuable insights into the role of peanuts in promoting health and preventing disease in at-risk older adults.
Rare and very rare neurological diseases primarily or exclusively affect the nervous system with a prevalence of < 5 out of 10'000 and 100'000 people, respectively. Besides these, there are undiagnosed neurological diseases: neurological conditions without a diagnosis after completing a full diagnostic examination. Rare, very rare, and undiagnosed neurological diseases are complicated and progressive and often cause variegated motor signs, impairments, and syndromes. Balance and gait are frequently affected in these conditions, already at the clinical examination. These balance and gait impairments limit activities and cause an increased risk of falling. Falls can eventually result in injuries, even severe. There are only a few studies about these diseases, likely because of their rarity. Hence, the clinical presentation and the course of rare and very rare diseases are poorly known or even unknown. Essential information for these conditions' diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and rehabilitation is missing. MaNeNeND is an observational study underway at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico "Carlo Besta" (Milano) aimed at detailing the clinical and biological features of very rare and undiagnosed neurological diseases. Research questions: 1. Do patients with rare (Ra), very rare (V) and undiagnosed (U) neurological diseases suffer a balance and gait impairment? 2. Is there a correlation between the clinical and instrumental severity of the balance and gait impairment in RaVU neurological diseases? 3. Are instrumental measures more sensitive in detecting balance and gait impairments in patients affected by a RaVU neurological disease than the clinical measures? 4. Do the balance and gait impairments in RaVU neurological diseases worsen in time? The current project aims at diagnosing, quantifying and detailing the balance and gait impairment in rare, very rare and undiagnosed neurological diseases. To this aim, questionnaires, clinical scales and instrumental tests will be administered to these patients to collect a wide range of balance and gait measures. These measures will also integrate those collected with MaNeNeND to provide a more detailed description of patients with rare, very rare and diagnosed neurological diseases. Participants will complete two questionnaires: the Dizziness Handicap Inventory - short form (DHI-sf, an ordinal score of self-perceived balance) and the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS, an ordinal score of self-perceived fatigue). Moreover, a clinician will administer the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest, an ordinal score of balance), the 10 m walking test (for measuring the gait speed and other gait parameters) and the Timed Up and Go test (an instrumental measure of mobility and balance). Walking and the Timed Up and Go tests will be recorded with a trunk-worn inertial measurement unit. Finally, participants will be asked to complete an instrumental upright stance and gait assessment, the first consisting of standing on posturographic plates and the second of walking on a treadmill equipped with force sensors. When walking on the treadmill, an optoelectronic system will also record the position in time of limbs and trunk. The quantification of the severity of the balance and gait impairment of the patients suffering a rare, very rare or undiagnosed neurological disease will highlight these persons' therapeutic and rehabilitative needs. Comparing the balance and gait impairment of rare, very rare and undiagnosed diseases with those of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and peripheral neuropathy will highlight if the formers' balance and gait impairment has unique characteristics that could help ease the diagnosis of these uncommon conditions. The longitudinal measurements on rare, very rare and undiagnosed diseases will be paramount to identifying prognostic factors. In addition, the data collected in the current study will be crucial for future studies, for example, for estimating the sample size in clinical trials.
The proposed project aims to develop and validate a multi-dimensional digital active aging program integrated with resilience to promote the biopsychosocial functions of older adults aged 60, including Chinese older immigrants in Canada (Study 1) and English-speaking White Canadian older adults (Study 2). The proposed study takes a typical pretest-training-posttest design. Pretest and posttest: a battery of outcome measures on physical, psychological, and social functions will be administered to all participants. Data will also be used to identify sociodemographic risk predictors for outcome variables (i.e., biopsychosocial functions and resilience). Training: the participants will be randomly assigned to three arms to receive 4 weeks of 16 training/practice/control treatment sessions delivered via Zoom. In the "active aging with resilience (AR)" condition, participants will complete physical, cognitive, and social engagement training modules, starting with a 30-min resilience-building module. The traditional "active aging" (AA) training involves the same multi-domain active aging training without the initial resilience-building module. The "workshop training" (WT) control condition involves workshops following the same 4-week schedule on aging-related topics.
This is a single-blind, sham-controlled, clinical trial that aims to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of delivering audiovisual stimulation via a Virtual Reality (VR) headset to people with mild Alzheimer's disease and age-matched healthy participants.
The goal of this randomised, double-blind placebo controlled trial is to explore tolerability and the effects of a new omega-3 fatty acid-based supplement on biological and clinical aspects relevant for healthy ageing. Participants will be asked to take a supplement or a placebo for 6 months, and to attend the clinic a total of 3 times and to perform or submit the following: - Physical examination - Muscle function tests - Cognitive testing - Questionnaire completion - Biological samples, including blood, saliva and faeces. Researchers will compare the results from the group taking the supplement to the results of the group taking a placebo to see if the supplement has an effect on biological and clinical aspects associated with healthy ageing.
In the ageing society, extending the healthy lifespan is a major challenge and a healthy diet may play an import role in maintaining health throughout life. With increasing age cardiovascular function declines and large and small blood vessels change in various and complex ways and these changes may lead to many age-related diseases. On a molecular level, there are many mechanisms that are associated with ageing including cellular senescence, loss of proteostasis, altered cellular communication, genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, telomere shortening, deregulated nutrient sensing, stem cell exhaustion and protein crosslinking. Animal and human studies suggest that dietary supplements may be able to affect these mechanisms. What the effect of the NOVOS Core supplement is on cardiovascular functions is not known. The aim of the present study is to investigate the short and intermediate term effects of a supplement mix designed to target ageing mechanism on vascular function in healthy middle-aged subjects. (STAMINA Study) The hypothesis is that the supplement will lead to acute and sustained changes in biomarkers of vascular function and health. 60 healthy middle-aged people will be recruited and randomly assigned to either daily intake of the NOVOS Core supplement (n=30) or placebo (n=30) for up to 6 months (3-6). The supplement (NOVOS Core) is a commercially available product and has 12 ingredients. It was developed and is provided together with the placebo by AgeLess Sciences LLC, a Public Benefit Corporation. The study will require 2 visits by participants during which non-invasive vascular exams will be performed, venous blood taken and spot urine sample collected. The primary endpoint is change in flow-mediated dilation, secondary endpoints are change in blood pressure, cholesterol, arterial stiffness, microvascular function cardiovascular risk SCORE and daily walking distance. Tertiary endpoints are changes in biomarkers of ageing as assessed in blood samples including DNA damage. In addition, we will assess anxiety, depressive feelings, happiness, well-being and the diet with several questionnaires. Measurements will be taken on the first day before and 2 hours after ingestion of the first supplement or placebo. Participants will consume the supplement or placebo for 6 months and vascular exams and one blood draw will be repeated during the final visit. During the time, participants will receive 2 phone calls to improve compliance.
The purpose of this study is to set up and pilot baseline data collection for a prospective cohort designed to explore the relationships between medical fitness facility usage, lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes as individuals age. Additionally, this pilot study will set up the overall objectives for the larger, prospective cohort study using a public engagement participatory approach with public/patient partners involved in determining which healthy aging outcomes to include.
The purpose of this study is to design a nutrition and exercise course for the elderly adults in the community, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this course intervention on the nutritional knowledge, nutritional status, sarcopenia, and health status of the elderly in the community. This study adopted convenience sampling and targeted 108 community elders over 65 years old in Taipei City. All participants receive 3 nutrition and exercise courses. Each course was separated by one week. Measurements and collections were conducted one week before and one week after the course. BMI (body mass index), muscle mass, calf circumference, grip strength, Mini Nutritional Assessment Form Short Form (MNA-SF), SARC-F scale, Taiwan Short Form 36 Health Scale (SF-36) and nutrition knowledge and attitude and behavioral questionnaires will be collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the course.