Active clinical trials for "Alzheimer Disease"

Alzheimers disease (AD) is the most common course of cognitive decline and thereby the course of more than half of all cases of dementia. A proper AD diagnosis is rested on a number of examinations and tests, which combined can make AD diagnosis likely. But no single test or examination can unambiguous determine whether the patient has AD or not. Comparatively no examination or test can with accuracy predict whether a healthy person or a person with only mild cognitive (MCI)impairment in time will evolve AD. Quantitative Electroencephalography (qEEG), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, linear CT analyses and Timed Up and Go - Dual Task (TUG-DT) are relatively inexpensive and and widely available diagnostic methods, which have the potential to diagnose AD at an early stage in a reliable accurate way. But they also have the potential to predict which patients diagnosed with MCI have particular risk of developing dementia. The purpose of the study is to investigate the relations between qEEG, CSF biomarkers, CT analyses and TUG-DT outcome and clinical features in healthy persons as well as patients with MCI and AD Furthermore to investigate whether qEEG or CSF biomarkers can predict which patients with MCI will in time evolve AD.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate whether a set of algorithms analysing acoustic and linguistic patterns of speech can detect amyloid-specific cognitive impairment in early stage Alzheimer's disease, based on archival spoken or written language samples, as measured by the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve of the binary classifier distinguishing between amyloid positive and amyloid negative arms. Secondary objectives include (1) evaluating how many years before diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) such algorithms work, as measured on binary classifier performance of the classifiers trained to classify MCI vs cognitively normal (CN) arms using archival material from the following time bins before MCI diagnosis: 0-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-15 years, 15-20 years, 20-25 years; (2) evaluating at what age such algorithms can detect later amyloid positivity, as measured on binary classifier performance of the classifiers trained to classify amyloid positive vs amyloid negative arms using archival material from the following age bins: younger than 50, 50-55, 55-60, 65-70, 70-75 years old.

In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) has been used in clinical settings for more than 25 years, and is noninvasive, rapid and easily repeatable technique to investigate ocular surface disorders. It enables morphological and quantitative analysis of ocular surface microstructure. [1-3] As the technology advances, new IVCM machine, Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph with Rostock Corneal Module (HRT-RCM), was developed. Hardware and software modifications and acquisition techniques continue to expand the applications of the HRT-RCM for quantitative in vivo corneal imaging at the cellular level. The new software can access the corneal nerve more accurate. Here the investigators proposed this Institutional Review Board (IRB) to collect healthy persons and cases of different systematic diseases as well as etiologies of ocular surface diseases.

This research project will test two new computerized technologies in the detection of brain changes related to Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. These technologies are: Computerized cognitive battery: Cognigram (CG) Computerized assessments have multiple advantages for the early detection of subtle changes in cognition in older adults. One of their main advantages is their higher precision when measuring accuracy and speed of responses, compared to pencil-and-paper tests. They also allow a greater reliability in measures, as tests are given in a standardized format without the interference of an evaluator. Finally, by including automatized instructions and reports, they are suitable for off-site or long-distance use. The present study aims to validate the Cognigram™ (CG) computerized cognitive tool, in a prospective and longitudinal fashion, determining if changes in the CG scores over 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, can predict progression to dementia at 1-year, 2-years, and 3-years, for patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The NeuroCatch™ Platform (NCP) Event-related potentials (ERP) are non-invasive, low-cost, electrophysiological methods that allow recording of the electrical activity of the brain in vivo through an Electroencephalogram (EGG). They are free from cultural and educational influence and can provide insights into the cognitive processes. ERP could enable to detect brain changes and determine the prognosis of MCI subjects. The NCP, an investigational medical device system developed by NeuroCatch Inc., consists of an EEG software and hardware that captures brain health information. It offers a quick (i.e., 10 minutes for EEG preparation and 6 minutes for each task of EEG recording), simple (i.e., includes only 8 electrodes), and easy-to-use solution (i.e., includes a computerized software that automatically analyzes data and outputs graphs in less than 1 minute) for the acquisition of EEG and ERP.

The specific aim of this study is to investigate rod, cone and melanopsin driven pupillary light response in individuals with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), age-matched healthy controls and individuals with other neurodegenerative diseases using chromatic pupillometry, with special interest in assessing melanopsin-driven post-illumination pupil response (PIPR) as an identifier for PSP. The study addresses the following hypotheses: Chromatic pupil responses, including rod/cone-driven rapid phase constriction and melanopsin-driven PIPR, are reduced in subjects with PSP compared to age-matched normal healthy control subjects, Pupil parameters of the melanopsin-driven PIPR are abnormal in PSP subjects without supranuclear palsy, which is indicative of a subclinical physiological deficit of the OPN in the early stages of PSP. If these hypotheses are upheld, chromatic pupillometry to measure the PIPR promises to be a reliable in vivo, non-invasive, convenient and inexpensive technique to detect asymptomatic pupillomotor impairment in advance of diagnostic oculomotor signs and deterioration of cognitive function.

To study the impact of genetic and environmental factors on high-level cognition associated neural circuits among healthy young Chinese Han subjects.

The main purpose of this study is to build upon the evidence captured in the Imaging Dementia - Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS; NCT02420756) trial to include valuable information regarding patient-reported outcomes and physician confidence in diagnosis and management based on the Implications for Management of PET Amyloid Classification Technology (IMPACT; NCT number not yet assigned) trial design.

This follow-up study is designed to obtain longitudinal clinical and MEG scan data to gain information on Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression, the stability of healthy control (HC) MEG scan data, to enrich the Orasi database of AD and HC subjects, and is intended to extend the capabilities of the Synchronous Neural Interaction® (SNI) test, which is under development by the sponsor, Orasi Medical. The current study is intended to extend the database of AD and HC MEG scans and will include patients who previously enrolled and completed Orasi Protocol ADG 08-01. This study will include MEG scans on up to approximately 50 AD subjects and 70 HC subjects. Additionally, AD subjects will complete 3 standard functional tests while HC subjects will complete 2 standard functional tests. ApoE genotyping also will be determined for all subjects. The results generated in this study will be used to improve the accuracy of the SNI test for diagnosing and tracking the progression of AD.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), osteoporosis and dementia are chronic diseases of ageing that impact adversely on the lives of those affected and have major health, social and economic consequences. A number of factors are considered to be implicated in these diseases, ranging from the more established factors to those that are less well recognised. Lifestyle factors such as diet, body weight, smoking, physical activity and years of education are acknowledged as risk factors for the development of these chronic diseases of aging. Emerging research suggests that elevated homocysteine and/or sub-optimal status of the metabolically related B-vitamins (folate, vitamin B12, B6 and riboflavin) may be associated with a higher risk of age-related disease. The interplay between relevant genetic and nutrient factors (gene-nutrient interactions) is considered to be highly relevant in the development (and prevention) of chronic diseases of ageing, however this relatively new area of research is as yet poorly understood. The collection of clinical, lifestyle, nutritional and genetic data on large numbers of patients would permit the investigation of those nutrients which interact with specific genes to increase the likelihood of a person developing chronic diseases of ageing. Aim: The aim of the TUDA study is to collect detailed clinical, lifestyle, dietary, genetic and biochemical data to investigate gene-nutrient interactions (particularly from the perspective of the B-vitamins and vitamin D/calcium) in the development of CVD, osteoporosis and dementia by studying older adults exhibiting the early stages of these common diseases, namely hypertension, low bone mineral density, and early memory loss, respectively. Secondary aim (follow up TUDA investigation): The aim of this longitudinal investigation is to re-assess clinical, nutritional, genetic and biochemical factors in relation to the progression of disease outcomes in TUDA study participants, in subsequent years after initial investigation. Study design: A total of 6000 non-institutionalised older Irish people aged over 60 years with early predictors of either dementia, stroke and osteoporosis (namely early memory loss, high blood pressure and low bone mineral density, respectively) recruited from three centres (St James's Hospital Dublin, Ulster University Coleraine and The Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre (C-TRIC), Londonderry) across Ireland. Non-fasting blood samples were collected from all subjects and routine blood biochemistry profiles and biomarkers of relevance to B vitamin and vitamin D status were measured. Supplement use was recorded and a targeted food frequency questionnaire was used to record dietary intakes of specific vitamins of interest (folate, B12, B6, riboflavin and D) from major food sources, particularly fortified foods. Physiological function tests including blood pressure, bone health (DXA scans) and cognitive function tests and anthropometric measures were also taken.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate whether a set of algorithms analysing acoustic and linguistic patterns of speech can detect amyloid-specific cognitive impairment in early stage Alzheimer's disease, based on archival spoken or written language samples, as measured by the AUC of the receiver operating characteristic curve of the binary classifier distinguishing between amyloid positive and amyloid negative arms. Secondary objectives include (1) evaluating how many years before diagnosis of MCI such algorithms work, as measured on binary classifier performance of the classifiers trained to classify MCI vs cognitively normal (CN) arms using archival material from the following time bins before MCI diagnosis: 0-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-15 years, 15-20 years, 20-25 years; (2) evaluating at what age such algorithms can detect later amyloid positivity, as measured on binary classifier performance of the classifiers trained to classify amyloid positive vs amyloid negative arms using archival material from the following age bins: younger than 50, 50-55, 55-60, 65-70, 70-75 years old.