Active clinical trials for "Cognitive Dysfunction"

In this study, the investigators will use a novel electroencephalogram (EEG) system that participants will wear during a single in-person research session to investigate whether ERPs are now ready for validation as a tool clinicians can easily implement to increase diagnostic accuracy and confidence. This EEG will not be used to treat, cure, mitigate or diagnosis any disease and there will be no safety or efficacy data collected about the machine for any purpose including support of FDA submission. The investigators will compare the ERP data to that of neuropsychological testing in order to determine the degree of correlation between these two measures. Questionnaires on cognition, mood, and fluency will be administered prior to the EEG to establish a baseline. ERP data from the EEG session will be compared with the results of the neuropsychological battery in order to determine whether the implementation of ERPs in the existing workflow of clinicians can aid in diagnostic accuracy, thus altering clinical management.

The primary objective of the Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (VADRC) is to provide local and national researchers with access to a well-characterized and diverse clinical cohort, including participant referrals, biosamples, clinical data, and neuroimaging data. The VADRC Clinical Core will create an infrastructure to support research efforts of both local and national investigator studies to develop early detection, prevention, and treatment strategies for Alzheimer's disease. The Clinical Core intends to enroll up to 1000 participants, including individuals who are cognitively unimpaired, have mild cognitive impairment, or have Alzheimer's disease. This cohort of about 1000 participants will be called the Tennessee Alzheimer's Project. Participants will be seen annually for comprehensive clinical characterization and then referred to other studies to enhance Alzheimer's disease research activities.

Study Design & Recruitment: Phase III randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 200 patients. Participants with a diagnosis of late-life depression (LLD), excluding dementia and other psychiatric comorbidities, will be recruited at three health networks. LLD patients had no earlier depressive episodes before the age of 65. Interventions: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) or Health Enhancement Program (HEP) for 8-weeks, in addition to TAU. MBCT and HEP will have the same group sizes, meeting frequency, and amount of home practice. HEP is a recognized active control where participants learn about diet and exercise, but not meditation.

This study will compare two approaches to cognitive rehabilitation in adults with long COVID with persistent, mild to moderate, cognitive impairment. Both approaches will feature a web-based computer "game" that trains cognitive processing speed, i.e., how quickly individuals process information that they receive through their senses. This training is termed Speed of Processing Training (SOPT). One approach will add (A) in-lab training on everyday activities with important cognitive components and (B) procedures designed to transfer improvements in cognition from the treatment setting to everyday life. Component A will include work-related tasks. This approach is termed Constraint-Induced Cognitive Therapy (CICT). The other approach will add (A) in-lab training on relaxation, healthy nutrition, and healthy sleep and (B) procedures designed to promote integration of these lifestyle changes into everyday life. This approach is termed Brain Fitness Training (BFT). A subset of participants, who qualify for and and desire vocational rehabilitation (VR), will receive VR from the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) in addition to CICT or BFT. ADRS VR will include career counseling, prescription of on-the-job accommodations, and guidance on return-to-work. Those in the CICT + VR group will also receive on-the-job coaching from a peer mentor for a month after completing training. CICT, with or without VR, will involve 30 hours of training. Ten 3-hour in-lab, face-to-face, therapist-directed sessions will be scheduled. These sessions will feature one hour of SOPT; the remainder will be committed to in-lab training on the target behaviors and the procedures designed to promote transfer of therapeutic gains to daily life and improving skills essential to work; the set of the latter procedures is termed the Transfer Package. To accommodate the demands of participants' other activities, training sessions will be permitted to be scheduled as tightly as every weekday over 2 weeks or as loosely as every other weekday or so over 4 weeks. If a family caregiver is available, they will receive training on how to best support participants in their therapeutic program. After training ends, four follow-up phone calls will be scheduled approximately one-week apart with participants to promote integration of the skills gained during training into everyday life. BFT, with or without VR, will involve 30 hours of training following the same schedule as for CICT. Ten 3-hour in-lab, face-to-face, therapist-directed sessions will be scheduled. These sessions will feature one hour of SOPT; the remainder will be committed to in-lab training on the target behaviors (healthy sleep, nutrition and relaxation habits) and the procedures designed to promote transfer of behavior change to daily life. If a family caregiver is available, they will receive training on how to best support participants in their therapeutic program. After training ends, four follow-up phone calls will be scheduled approximately one-week apart with participants to promote integration of the skills gained during training into everyday life. Participants will be randomly assigned to the interventions. Randomization will be stratified by whether participants qualify for and desire VR from ADRS or not. If yes, participants will be randomized in equal numbers to CICT + VR or BFT + VR. If no, participants will be randomized in equal numbers to CICT or BFT. Testing will happen one month before treatment, one day before treatment, one day afterwards, and 6- and 12-months afterwards. Outcomes measured will include cognitive processing speed, cognitive function on laboratory tests, and spontaneous performance of everyday activities with important cognitive components in daily life. Another important outcome measure will be whether or not participants were able to return back to work or had significant improvements in their work activities.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a term used to describe the transitional stage that occurs between normal aging and the onset of dementia. Spatial disorientation is often considered a significant indicator for diagnosing dementia. Numerous studies have documented deficits in both the allocentric and egocentric spatial frames of reference, as well as difficulties in transitioning between them, in individuals with MCI. Rapid advances in computing technology have enabled researchers to conduct cognitive training and rehabilitation interventions with the assistance of technology. Therefore, the aim of the study is to use virtual therapeutics to train MCI spatial memory.

This trial will examine scheduled exposure to bright light in the morning and afternoon as a countermeasure to sleep fragmentation in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

The researchers are trying to gather information and learn more about imaging tests in racially different people who are cognitively normal or have dementia.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the use of a special radioactive drug called 123I-MIBG and myocardial MIBG scintigraphy. This scan may be able to help determine who may have a certain kind of neurologic disorder called Lewy Body Disease. The overall purpose of this study is to correlate myocardial MIBG scintigraphy findings with clinical diagnosis. Myocardial MIBG scintigraphy imaging will be combined with other clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings to improve the prediction for underlying Lewy Body Disease.

Alcohol misuse is a risk factor for early onset cognitive impairment, contributing to 10% of early onset dementia, with risk corresponding to consumption. Additionally, continued drinking risks worsening cognitive decline and dementia progression, while worsening cognitive impairment contributes to drinking escalation. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been shown to improve cognition in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dimentias (ADRD) and separately reduce heavy drinking in alcohol use disorder. Our objective is to optimize rTMS for simultaneous mitigation of both drinking and cognitive dysfunction in older adults.

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection has resulted, in addition to the well-known acute symptoms, in the emergence of persistent, diffuse and heterogeneous symptoms referred to as persistent COVID. Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive dysfunction, among others, and result in an impact on daily functioning. Symptoms may be new onset, appear after initial recovery from an acute episode of COVID-19, or persist after the initial illness. Cardiac variability (HRV) was initially used in COVID-19 to predict mortality in the acute setting. Dysautonomia which partly evaluates HRV is frequent in patients with persistent COVID. Several groups have used voice or other respiratory noise analysis for the diagnosis of acute COVID. Patients in the persistent COVID cohort will be able to be differentiated from an age, sex and vaccination status matched cohort of recovered COVID patients without sequelae by means of a model created by Machine Learning that will be trained using cardiac variability (HRV), skin conductance and acoustic analysis data. The primary objetive will be to obtain a classification algorithm by Machine Learning to differentiate the group of patients with persistent COVID diagnosis from the paired group of recovered COVID patients without sequelae.