Active clinical trials for "Cognitive Dysfunction"

Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology is characterized by deposits of insoluble amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) in extracellular plaques and aggregated tau protein, which is found largely in the intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. Current knowledge, has allowed a shift in the definition of AD from a syndromal to a biological construct, based on biomarkers that are proxies of pathology. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying the disease progression at its early stages. The loss of dendritic spines, the primary locus of excitatory synaptic transmission in the mammalian central nervous may be linked to cognitive and memory impairment in AD: A multimodal lifestyle change intervention (dietary, physical activity and cognition) combined with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) will slow down cognitive decline and improve brain connectivity in a population of participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). In humans, alterations in functional connectivity (FC) have been observed in early AD stages, subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A hyper-synchronized anterior network and a posterior network characterized by a decrease in FC are the spatial features. These disruptions also seen in AD indicate that FC alterations appear very early in the course of the disease . Experimental research strongly suggests that in order to increase our cerebral reserves, we have to follow a lifestyle that takes into account many factors. Clinical studies provided evidence that individuals with more cerebral reserves are those who have a high level of education, who maintain regular physical activity and who eat in a healthy way. The environmental enrichment (EE) animal models confirmed that the experience plays a key role in increasing brain plasticity phenomena .There is a growing understanding that a valid therapeutic emerging approach in AD is prevention. A large number of modifiable risk factors for AD have been identified in observational studies, many of which do not appear to exert effects through amyloid or tau. This suggests that primary prevention studies focusing on risk reduction and lifestyle modification may offer additional benefits. The therapeutic approach proposed in the present project aims at improving synaptic plasticity and functional connectivity in early stages of AD, and specifically in SCD in the context of a personalized medicine approach that includes a multimodal intervention (nutritional, physical, cognitive and medical) looking at improving person-centered outcomes. In this context the proposed clinical trial design will evaluate the efficacy of EGCG in the context of a personalized medicine approach that includes a multimodal intervention (nutritional, physical, cognitive and medical) looking at improving person-centered outcomes. Early phase I studies in Down syndrome young adults showed that while subjects were under EGCG, improvements in cognition were observed but these vanished when treatment was discontinued. Phase II studies combining EGCG with cognitive training showed improvements in cognitive performance and adaptive functionality but interestingly sustained effects after treatment discontinuation. Observations made in humans are in agreement with preclinical studies showing that EGCG combined with environmental enrichment resulted in an improvement of age-related cognitive decline. These observations are in favor of the option of combining EGCG with a personalized multimodal intervention. The personalized multimodal intervention will take into account medical comorbidities (i.e. metabolic syndrome, T2DM), diet (including nutritional status), physical exercise, and will incorporate cognitive training and a behavioral intervention to aid subject's adherence and empowerment to the intervention proposed. This will be in-line with other clinical studies in AD showing the superiority of multimodal interventions vs. a single life style intervention (i.e. single nutrient, physical activity). Hypothesis: A multimodal lifestyle change intervention (dietary, physical activity and cognition) combined with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) will slow down cognitive decline and improve brain connectivity in a population of participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

The study evaluates if the relationship between total serum cholesterol is dependent on the total serum homocysteine. Fasting blood samples will taken from participants and two batteries of cognitive scales will be used to asses any cognitive decline.

Cognitive impairment associated with chemotherapy is an important reported post-treatment side-effect among breast and other cancer survivors. As some patients report cognitive complaints before the administration of their therapy, some authors suggest an association with psychological risk factors such as distress. Distress, a multifactorial unpleasant emotional experience of a psychological (cognitive, behavioral and emotional), social and/or spiritual nature that may interfere with the ability to cope with cancer effectively, its physical symptoms and its treatment, can easily be assessed by the Distress Thermometer. In this trial we aim to determine if the Distress Thermometer, accompanied by the 38-item Problem List, could predict cancer-related cognitive impairment in patients with hematologic malignancies, and in patients with gynecological, urological, breast, lung or gastro-intestinal cancer receiving curative radiotherapy, chemotherapy, radiochemotherapy, anti-hormonal or targeted therapy.

Currently it is unknown how the human brain reorganizes its network organization to generate conscious experience and cognitive activity after a period of unconsciousness. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess how cognitive activity is reconstructed after general anesthesia. The investigators hypothesize that the brain's transition from unconsciousness to consciousness and full cognition is a complex process that occurs over an extended period of time. Specifically, the investigators hypothesize the following order of cognitive reconstitution: responsiveness to command, attention, complex scanning and visual tracking, working memory, and executive function. Volunteers will be healthy participants who are anesthetized with commonly used anesthetic drugs as well as a non-anesthetized group to control for circadian influences. A total of 60 subjects will be recruited for this study. All subjects (male and female) will perform basic tests for cognition on a laptop computer at 30-minute intervals during this study. The testing battery to be administered was assembled to assess multiple cognitive functions in order to determine whether and how cognitive processes return to baseline function. Electroencephalogram (measuring brain electrical activity) data will be monitored and recorded during both anesthesia and cognitive testing, for subsequent analysis. This study is significant because it could lead to a better understanding of the neural correlates of human consciousness, as well as normal and abnormal conscious state transitions (including barriers to such transitions).

Recent data suggests that anesthetics can have prolonged effects on gene expression, protein synthesis and processing as well as cellular function in ways that the investigators are only beginning to understand, especially in the very young and the elderly. Within moments to days of emerging from anesthesia - cardiac or non-cardiac - some patients experience mild to very severe disorientation and changes in memory and thinking ability without apparent cause. For the vast majority of patients, this Post-Operative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD), generally subsides, but for some with "diminished cognitive reserve" - especially the elderly, those with less education or prior CNS events such as stroke or early dementia - changes in memory and executive function may persist. If prolonged for more than three months, POCD has been linked to an increased risk of death. In 1-2% of elderly patients, the problem may ultimately continue for more than a year, leading to a loss of ability to care for themselves and early demise. Though this may seem like a small percentage, seniors will comprise up to 40% of the 50-75 million surgical procedures performed annually over the next 20-30 years. This amounts to 70,000 - 200,000 elder affected, and for them and their families, the cost of POCD in longer-term care, lost wages, and extended suffering will remain very high.

Patients referred to pediatric rehabilitation services have often cognitive deficits/intellectual disabilities.Neurocognitive assessment is, hence, important when designing treatment plans. Children and adolescents with cognitive deficits and intellectual disabilities (ID) have a high risk of developing mental health problems. There is lack of knowledge about such comorbid mental disorders in the health service. There are also few validated instruments for assessing mental disorders among children and adolescents with cognitive deficits and ID both in Norway and abroad. The main aims of the current multicentre study are to: Investigate psychometric properties of different psychiatric instruments for children and adolescents. Investigate change and stability of symptoms over time. Investigate user satisfaction. The study will include Pediatric Rehabilitation Services at hospitals in Tromsø, Hammerfest and Bodø and will include in total 320 patients aged 4 to 18. We will use information from parents, teachers and patients, in addition to clinician-rated measures. Patients will be assessed at intake and after six months. We have conducted a pilot study in the period from 2012 to 2013.

In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer first described the disease that later took his name. Today, 100 years later, 24 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. The term 'dementia' is clinical and is used to describe brain disorders that cause decline in mental functions, memory first and then speech, judging and overall behavior. Alzheimer's disease is by far the most common form of dementia, followed by vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy, the frontotemporal dementias etc. In Greece there are 141,000 patients with dementia. With increasing life expectancy, the figures are expected to increase dramatically in the future. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, as well as 50-60% of patients with dementia suffer from this disease. The second most common type of dementia is vascular, ie that associated with cerebrovascular disease and is the 15-30% of all dementia cases and is most common between the ages of 60-70 years and is more common in men than women. It is estimated that 5% to 8% of people over 65 suffer from dementia, while in industrialized countries ranges at the following levels :15-25% over 85 and 32% over 90 years. Dementia is characterized by a slow onset and progressive course. The syndrome includes disorders in general intelligence, learning and memory, problem solving, perception, judgment, executive function, language and synergy of movement, but without impairment of consciousness. Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with distinct clinical and histopathological features, although with variations from person to person. In its early stages it is sometimes difficult to diagnose cognitive impairment from normal aging of the brain. With the passage of time, the continuous decline in recent memory, fluency, ability for spatial orientation ultimately restricts the autonomy regarding basic activities of daily life such as managing finances. The anxiety and depression complicate diagnosis in early stages, but gradually decline with loss of sensitivity. Intermediate stages of the disease require increasingly supervision in daily self-care activities, such as personal hygiene and clothing. In the advanced stages are usually essential nursing care in institutional context. The severity of symptoms of the disease varies and is determined by premorbid factors such as education, gender, cultural background. Epidemiological studies have shown as protective factors against the onset of dementia, higher education, taking estrogen and anti-inflammatory drugs. On the other hand, age, family history of dementia, head injury, hypertension and Down syndrome are risk factors for developing the disease. Finally, some genetic factors appear to be protective, and other pressures to the disease.

This study investigates whether general anesthesia using a Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) -model-based index indicating the compound effect of different anesthetics leads to optimized outcome compared to manually controlled clinical anesthesia and computerized Electroencephalogram (EEG).

The purpose of this study is to compare the effect after 12 weeks of the oral intake of Lecitone®Se + 200UI/day of D3 vitamin with the effect of a placebo on changes in cognitive performance in Trial Making Test score part B (this test evaluate executive functions of mental flexibility) in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the depth of anesthesia with propofol affects the incidence of early postoperative cognitive dysfunction