Active clinical trials for "Alzheimer Disease"

Biomarkers are important for early and precise diagnosis of dementia. However, the causes of dementia in different age are different. We designed an age stratified dementia cohort and tried to explore biomarkers of different groups of dementia, incorporating neuropsychology, multi-model neuroimaging, metabolics and proteomics based fluid biomarkers as well as genetic biomarkers. Autopsy after clinical follow up help to verify the biomarkers.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which causes abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep, is common in patients with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and exacerbates the cognitive deficits seen in these conditions. OSA is typically treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which has been shown to improve cognition in VCI and slow cognitive decline in AD. Despite the need to identify OSA in patients with VCI/AD, these patients often do not undergo testing for OSA. One major barrier is that in-laboratory polysomnography (iPSG), the current standard for diagnosing OSA, is inconvenient for patients with VCI/AD who may be reliant on others for care or require familiar sleep environments. A convenient and cheaper alternative to iPSG is home sleep apnea testing (HSAT), which has been validated against iPSG to diagnose OSA and has proven feasible for use in VCI/AD. Our primary objective is to determine whether the use of HSAT is superior to iPSG in terms of the proportion of patients who complete sleep testing by 6 months post-randomization. We will also investigate cost-effectiveness, patient satisfaction, proportion of patients treated with CPAP, changes in cognition, mood, sleep-related and functional outcomes between HSAT and iPSG at 6 months.

Improving the diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders is a major public health challenge. This diagnosis occurs too late in the majority of cases, or is even sometimes non-existent for some despite the presence of clinical signs and symptoms. However, the etiological diagnosis of a TNC is crucial for the patient and his family to understand the most appropriate decisions for the future, to plan the organization of his life as long as he is able to do so, to access the clinical research, to promote dialogue between patients and their caregivers. On the contrary, a late diagnosis may be responsible for the fact that the patient and his / her family are less able to benefit from certain psychosocial interventions, services and treatments. But the diagnostic announcement is retained. One of the negative and dreaded effects of such an announcement is the negative psychological impact. Some studies show that the diagnostic announcement would worsen the level of anxiety or depressed mood and the risk of social isolation. On the other hand, other studies show that symptoms such as anxiety, psychic distress and depression remain stable, or even decrease slightly after the announcement of the diagnosis, in patients and their relatives. However, the literature is questionable because the majority of the studies are retrospective, mono-centric, and the patient numbers are low. While the first reactions of patients may be negative after the announcement, some report resignation experiences, or form of relief, because they have finally found a clinical explanation for the symptoms encountered. While doubt or diagnostic uncertainty, as well as the feeling of not knowing the truth, seem to have a more damaging psychological impact on the patient and those around him, increasing anxiety and confusion. The primary objective is to study if the level of anxiety 2 months after the announcement of the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a related disease is not superior to the level of anxiety before the announcement with patient / caregiver. This present study aim to explore the feasibility with 14 patients.

Early in its development, Alzheimer's disease causes not only brain damage affecting different regions of the brain, such as the entorhinal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, and the prefrontal lobe, but also a cognitive deficit affecting several functions, such as episodic memory, executive functions, or working memory. Although these different areas and functions are involved in the decision-making process, few studies have focused their research on this subject in the context of Alzheimer's disease. However, a 2008 study showed an early decline in decision-making skills in the disease, but did not link this deficit to cognitive impairment. In addition, decision-making is generally assessed using a test called the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which, despite its many advantages, does not have established ecological validity. In the context of pathology, however, it seems essential to evaluate decision-making in relation to daily life, especially since a deficit in this process would have considerable repercussions on quality of life. In this study, the investigators seek to better define the disorder by decision-making in early Alzheimer's disease, to understand the links between them with the deficit of other cognitive functions, and to highlight the the consequences that this decline has on patients' daily lives.

This is an open-label study without randomisation. All eligible patients will receive two administrations of the investigational imaging agent [18F]PI-2620 at a radioactive dose of 185 MBq, one with high specific activity (≤ 5 µg tracer mass dose), another one with low specific activity (40-50 µg tracer mass dose).

To determine the safety and efficacy of Amniotic and Umbilical Cord Tissue for the treatment of the following condition categories: Orthopedic, Neurologic, Urologic, Autoimmune, Renal, Cardiac and Pulmonary Conditions. The hypotheses are that the treatments are not only extremely safe, but also statistically beneficial for all conditions. Outcomes will be determined by numerous valid outcome instruments that compile general quality of life information along with condition-specific information as well.

The Atlas of Retinal Imaging in Alzheimer's (ARIAS) study is a 5-year study examining the natural history of retinal imaging biomarkers associated with disease risk, disease burden, and disease progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of this project is to create a 'gold standard' reference database of structural anatomic and functional imaging of the retina, in order to enable the identification and development of both sensitive and reliable markers of AD risk and/or progression. Our ultimate goal is to develop a new screening protocol that identifies changes related to AD 10-20 years before AD is clinically visible.

Electrical activity in the brain known as "gamma" brainwaves help connect and process information throughout the brain. These gamma waves are diminished in Alzheimer's disease. New research in Alzheimer's disease mouse models shows that exposure to light flickering at the rate of 40 flashes per second or 40Hz increased gamma brainwaves and led to clearing of beta amyloid plaques in the brain, a key abnormality in Alzheimer's disease. This project will test the ability of a novel iPad App (AlzLife https://www.alz.life/) that delivers light therapy at 40 Hz combined with cognitive therapy to improve cognition, function, and quality of life in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Vascular dementia (VaD) have become common diseases in the elderly. The burden of dementia is rising in China, with major medical, social and economic impacts. To address this important public health problem, cohort study on elderly cognitive disorders should be carry out. The methods of early prevention, early diagnosis and early treatment the cognitive disorders in elderly should be found to reduce the burden of the social and economic issue due to dementia. At present, the international corresponding guidelines have taken gene and brain imaging biomarkers as important indicators of dementia pathogenesis research, accurate diagnosis and targeted intervention. Based on the above understanding, the study carry out the population cohort study based on accurate diagnosis and construct the high standard information and sample bank. The study will establish the standard and quality system of geriatric cognitive disorders cohort study (unified standards and norms). The study will integrate the standard biological samples stratified acquisition function module (homogeneity and precision) of elderly cognitive disorders, and complete the construction of biological samples bank and clinical diagnosis and treatment information database. The study will apply and develop brain structural and pathological imaging technology to support precision diagnosis of senile cognitive disorders. The study will evaluate whether peripheral nerve degeneration can predict central nervous system degeneration based on the large cohort of elderly study. In addition, The study will make an effective supplement the sample bank construction of Shanghai Mental Health Center.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, affecting approximately 10% of individuals aged ≥ 65. Most available treatments aim at controlling symptoms at an early stage rather than providing a cure. Therefore, an accurate and early diagnosis of AD with appropriate management will slow the progression of the condition. Reduced cerebral glucose levels have been observed in patients with early AD. Glucose hypometabolism can be assessed by administering a radioactive glucose analogue, 2-deoxy-2-(18F) fluoro-D-glucose (18FDG), and imaging with PET (positron emission tomography). The high cost and limited availability of PET-CT (PET - computed tomography) still hamper its general clinical application. Moreover, the use of radioactive tracers in combination with the additional ionizing radiation of CT is not suitable for repeated measurements. Therefore, currently, the provisional diagnosis of AD is still based on the combination of clinical history, neurological examination, cognitive testing over a period of time, and structural neuroimaging. This has major time and resource implications. A radically different and highly innovative means for imaging glucose with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has now been established, exploiting the interaction between hydroxyl protons in glucose and the protons in water; the method is termed glucose Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (glucoCEST). GlucoCEST MRI is a method that has no reliance on radiolabelled glucose analogues and could become widely implemented in clinic practice. We therefore aim to investigate the potential of glucoCEST MRI in Alzheimer's disease.