Memory Training in Patients With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Mild Cognitive Impairment Clinical Trial

Official title: Episodic Memory Training for Face Name Association in Patients With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Cognitive Measures and Functional Resonance Magnetic Imaging Outcomes

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Preview research reports evidence of cognitive plasticity among individuals with amnestic Mild cognitive Impairment, and small-size studies have suggest that this population can benefit from memory training. This project intends to assess the efficacy of cognitive training in persons with MCI with a randomized controlled design.

The hypothesis is that cognitive training can improve memory performance for persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and this improvement can be maintained over time.

Clinical Trial Description

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) often represents a transitional state between healthy aging and dementia, being considered a public health problem especially due to the increase of elder population in Brazil and in the World in general. Yet the conclusions of studies on pharmacological treatments for this population are still controversial, making imperative to invest on new efficient therapies such as non pharmacological interventions aimed at memory improvement.

One training mode that has benefited elders is the association between names and faces, which has a compelling clinical relevance considering that one of the main complains among elders is the difficulty in remembering names. However, the exact effects of this kind of training in elders (i.e. the eventual changes in cognition and in brain activation on Magnetic Resonance Imaging) are still unclear.

Therefore, this study aims to verify the effects of memory training (name-face association) compared with control intervention - psychoeducation, in 30 elders with amnestic MCI. We will request the participants with amnestic MCI to submit to a Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) in order to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis. Training and psychoeducation will be conducted in 4 sessions (two per week). To assess the effects, we will use cognitive instruments and MRI exams before and after the intervention. Also, one and three months after the conclusion of the training patients will again be submitted to cognitive tests. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cognition Disorders
• Mild Cognitive Impairment

• NCT number: NCT01978353
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of Sao Paulo General Hospital
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 2012
• Completion date: October 2015