Retina is a Marker for Cerebrovascular Heath
Cerebral Small Vessel DiseasesCerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy With Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy2 moreCerebral small vessel disease (SVD), present in 80-94% of adults over age 65 years, increases the risk of stroke by 2-fold, and dementia by 2.3-fold. There is currently no treatment to slow SVD progression. This study aims to test whether impaired cerebral and retinal vasoreactivity may serve as biomarker for SVD progression, and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cilostazol (antiplatelet agent with vasodilatory and anti-inflammatory properties) for the treatment of SVD.
Alzheimer's Autism and Cognitive Impairment Stem Cell Treatment Study
Alzheimer DiseaseAlzheimer Dementia19 moreThe purpose of the study is to evaluate the use of autologous Bone Marrow Derived Stem Cells (BMSC) as a means to improve cognitive impairment as occurs in Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias and to improve behavior and socialization issues which occur in adult Autism Spectrum Disorder. The use of Near Infrared Light, in conjunction with the use of BMSC, will also be assessed.
Virtual Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy: a Proof of Concept Study
DementiaDementia13 moreDue to COVID-19, the routine treatment for dementia, Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), is currently suspended in multiple countries. Access to treatment is, therefore, paramount. The investigators seek to bridge the current treatment gap with a virtual and individual form of CST, called Virtual Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (V-iCST). This psychosocial intervention was adapted from the key principles of CST and developed within the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for complex interventions. The investigators aim to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of V-iCST in a Randomized Controlled Trial. This is a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) for Virtual Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (V-iCST), an evidence-based teletherapy for people with mild to moderate dementia. This psychosocial intervention is adapted from a routine and established dementia treatment, Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, and developed within the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for complex interventions.
Efficacy and Safety of Tocotrienols in CADASIL
CadasilCADASIL is a paradigmatic cerebral small vessel disease responsible for white-matter lesions, accumulation of lacunes, microbleeds and cerebral atrophy. The disease is responsible for stroke and cognitive decline associated with motor disability. The number of incident lacunes, and amount of cerebral atrophy were recently found to have a strong relationship to cognitive decline and disability progression over 3 years in a large sample of patients. Palm tocotrienols has previously shown evidence of therapeutic effect in attenuating the progression of WMH related to sporadic cerebral small vessel disease in a randomized controlled clinical trial. We hypothesize that palm tocotrienols complex (HOV-12020) can reduce the clinical progression in CADASIL.
Care of Persons With Dementia in Their Environments (COPE) in Programs of All-Inclusive Care of...
Frontotemporal DementiaDementia7 moreThe protocol is organized into three Phases - In Phase I an online training program will be developed in "Care of Persons with Dementia in their Environments" (COPE) -an evidence-based bio-behavioral dementia program -using state-of-the science simulation and best online learning practices. In addition an automated approach to fidelity monitoring using computational linguistics (automatic classification programs) will be developed. In Phase II, ten long term care community-based (PACE) organizations will be randomized into two groups; 5 PACE organizations will serve as the "control" site in which staff training will be provided via the traditional high intensity face-to-face training in the COPE program. 5 PACE organizations will serve as the comparison and staff will be trained using the online COPE training program. Phase II will evaluate the whether an online training program is the same or better in improving PACE staff competency and fidelity to COPE principles and protocols compared to a high intensity face-to-face traditional form of training. In Phase III the efficacy of the COPE program on PACE participant outcomes by type of COPE training will be evaluated. Each of the PACE organizations will enroll 5 persons with dementia and their caregivers in the study. This will yield 50 family dyads (25 dyads in traditional training sites and 25 dyads in online training sites). Dyads will be followed for 4 months. Non-inferiority analysis will be used to assess whether dyads will yield the same or better outcomes regardless of how PACE staff were trained.
CERebrolysin In CADASIL
CadasilThe objective of this trial is the global risk-benefit assessment of Cerebrolysin as compared to Placebo in patients with genetically proven CADASIL. In addition, a traditional approach will be taken based on an evaluation of the separate risk and benefit domains in comparison with placebo.
Comparative Study Between Alzheimer's and Multi-infarct Dementia
DementiaDementia is a neurological disease that causes cognitive and behavioral impairments that could ultimately interfere with the ability to function at work or to do the usual daily activities. It is recognized as a healthcare and social burden and remains challenging in terms of proper diagnosis and treatment.
Rural Dementia Caregiver Project
DepressionStress21 moreThese caregivers are a vulnerable group due to their physical isolation and well-documented rural disparities in health care access and quality. Many rural dementia caregivers experience serious health consequences due to caregiving responsibilities that can limit their ability to maintain their caregiving role. Thus, there is a pressing need for effective, scalable, and accessible programs to support rural dementia caregivers. Online programs offer a convenient and readily translatable option for program delivery because they can be accessed by caregivers in the home and at the convenience of the user. Building Better Caregivers is an online 6-week, interactive, small-group self-management, social support, and skills-building workshop developed for caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. The investigators will conduct a hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial that will enroll and randomize 640 rural dementia caregivers into two groups: the intervention (workshop) group and the attention control group. Caregivers will be recruited throughout the United States. Primary outcomes will be caregiver stress and depression symptoms. The investigators hypothesize that stress scores and depression symptoms will be significantly improved at 12 months in the intervention group versus control group. The investigators will also identify key strengths (facilitators) and weaknesses (barriers) of workshop implementation. The investigators will use the RE-AIM implementation framework and a mixed methods approach to identify implementation characteristics pertinent to both caregivers and rural community organizations. If the Building Better Caregivers workshop is proven to be effective, this research has the potential to open new research horizons, particularly on how to reach and effectively support isolated dementia caregivers in rural areas with an intervention that is scalable, even in low-resourced settings. If the workshop can achieve its goals with rural dementia caregivers, some of those most isolated, it would also be expected to be scalable in other low-resourced settings (e.g., in urban or suburban environments).
Registry for CADASIL
Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Ateriopathy With Subcortical Infarcts and LeukoencephalopathyThis study is being done in order to create a registry (list) of people interested in Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) research. It may be that you have a family member or other loved one with CADASIL, or that you may have CADASIL or are at risk. Participation means that your name will be added to a list of people who will be invited to participate in future research studies on CADASIL. Participants must be 18 years or older, and will remain on the registry until they request to be removed.
Natural History Study of CADASIL
Cardiovascular DiseaseArterial Stiffness3 moreBackground: CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarct and leukoencephalopathy) is a genetic disorder. It causes narrowing of the small blood vessels and can lead to strokes and dementia. Researchers want to monitor people with CADASIL over time. Objective: To learn more about how CADASIL affects a person s blood vessels over time. Eligibility: Adults ages 18 and older who have CADASIL, and healthy volunteers. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical record review. Participants will have 4 study visits over 9 years. Visits will last 6 8 hours per day, for 2 4 days. Participants will give blood and urine samples. They will have an electrocardiogram to record their heart s electrical activity. They will fill out a family tree. They will have tests that measure mental abilities like memory and attention. They may have a skin biopsy. They may have a lumbar puncture. Participants will have an eye exam. Their pupils will be dilated. They will receive a dye via intravenous (IV) line. Pictures will be taken of their eyes. Participants will have an imaging scan of their brain. They may receive a contrast agent via IV. Participants blood flow and blood vessel flexibility will be measured. In one test, a probe will be pressed against the skin of the their wrist, neck, and groin. In another test, they will hold one arm still while a microscope makes videos of the blood flow through a fingernail. In another test, they will perform light exercise or other activities while wearing an elastic band around their head or probes placed on their arm or leg. Healthy volunteers will complete some of the above tests.