Improving Everyday Task Performance Through Repeated Practice in Virtual Reality.
Alzheimer DiseaseMild Dementia10 moreThere are very few effective interventions that promote functional independence in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias. This R21 project is the first step in the long-term goal of developing an effective, enjoyable, portable, and inexpensive non-immersive virtual reality (VR) training intervention for improving the performance of everyday tasks. The investigators' VR training approach is built upon the results of past studies that show 1) when people with AD repeatedly practice daily tasks they subsequently perform them more completely and without error; and 2) healthy people are able to transfer skills learned in VR-contexts to tasks in the real world. This R21 study will obtain preliminary data to inform a future randomized clinical trial through three aims: Aim 1) To test the hypothesis that individuals with mild-moderate AD will show improved performance on an everyday task after repeatedly practicing the task in a non-immersive VR setting; Aim 2) To explore usability and acceptability of the VR training as well as associations between individual differences variables (e.g., cognitive abilities, demographics) and training effects. To test Aim 1, 40 participants with mild to moderate AD will be recruited to complete daily VR Training sessions for one week. VR Training will include repeated practice of a single, everyday task in a non-immersive VR-context (VR Breakfast or VR Lunch; counterbalanced across participants). The primary outcome measure is performance of the real-life version of the trained task, which will be collected before and at two time points after training, compared to performance of an untrained, control task of comparable difficulty, and scored from video by coders blinded to training task/condition. To evaluate Aim 2, all participants and an informant will complete interviews and questionnaires and participants will complete tests of cognitive abilities. Usability and acceptability of the VR training will be evaluated and associations between participant variables and VR Training results will be explored. If the proposed hypothesis is supported and results show that training effects generalize from virtual to real tasks in the study sample, then VR training of custom and individualized tasks will be investigated in a future randomized, controlled clinical trial for maintaining and improving functional abilities in people with mild to moderate AD.
Efficacy and Safety of Butylphthalide Soft Capsule for the Treatment of Vascular Dementia
Vascular DementiaButylphthalide soft capsule has been confirmed to have beneficial effects for patients with vascular dementia (VaD) in clinical trial of phase II study. So the investigators hypothesize that Butylphthalide soft capsule may have same beneficial effects for patients with VaD in an extended samples in phase III study. In present study the investigators will recruit patients with mild to moderate VaD in a multi-center, random, double blind and placebo control methods to confirm the efficacy and safety of Butylphthalide soft capsule. The outcome measures include general cognitive function, executive function, daily living skills, and mental behavior changes of symptoms in VaD patients.
Efficacy and Safety of Tian Ma Bian Chun Zhi Gan Tablets in Mild to Moderate Vascular Dementia
Vascular DementiaCognitive ImpairmentThe study will be a 36-week multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase Ⅱb trial in China. Total 360 participants aged 55-80 years will be randomized to Tian Ma Bian Chun Zhi Gan group (84mg per day) or to placebo group. The primary endpoint will be Vascular Dementia Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale and Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes. Secondary outcomes included changes in Mini-Mental State Examination, Clock Drawing Test, Delayed Story Recall and Ability of Daily Living. Patients' safety will be assessed by recording of adverse events, clinical examinations, electrocardiography and laboratory tests. The patients, caregivers, and investigators will be blinded to the treatment allocations.
WeCareAdvisor Study for Caregivers of People Living With Dementia
DementiaCaregiver Burnout5 moreThe WeCareAdvisor is an online tool to help caregivers manage behavioral and psychological symptoms of people living with dementia. The trial will evaluate its efficacy to reduce caregiver distress, improve confidence managing behaviors, as well as reduce occurrences and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms. Visit https://wecareadvisorstudy.com/ for more information.
Dapagliflozin Effect in Cognitive Impairment in Stroke Trial
StrokeIschemic4 moreBackground: Dementia is an international public health problem, affecting approximately 50,000,000 people worldwide in 2018 and will triple by 2050; furthermore, reaching an approximate cost of 4 billion dollars. Given its high worldwide prevalence and probable underdiagnosis, the international guidelines for the assessment of dementia syndromes recommend the assessment of cognitive impairment in patients over 55 years of age as part of clinical practice in patients who presented an ischemic cerebrovascular event. Several risk factors associated with cognitive impairment in cerebrovascular disease are identified in the literature: 1) demographic factors (e.g., age over 65 years and female sex); 2) risk factors present prior to the ischemic stroke (e.g., cognitive impairment, physical impairment); 3) factors utilized to assess the severity of an ischemic stroke (e.g., supratentorial location, ischemic stroke in the dominant hemisphere, recurrence of ischemic strokes); 4) post-ischemic stroke factors (e.g., delirium and seizures); and 5) factors associated with neuroimaging findings (e.g., cerebral small vessel disease, cortical atrophy, and medial temporal lobe atrophy). This is a randomized controlled trial in individuals with an acute ischemic stroke without dementia that will be treated with 10mg dapagliflozin PO q24h for 12 months and standard treatment against only standard treatment (i.e., statins, platelet antiaggregant, and hypoglycemic medications) when appropriate. The outcome measure evaluated will be global cognitive function. Cardiovascular risk factors will be associated with cognitive decline.
Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet in Stroke Patients Patients...
Cognitive DeclineDementia4 moreTo test the effects of a 2- to 3-year intervention of the MIND diet versus usual post-stroke care on cognitive decline, the characteristic feature of dementia, and on brain biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and vascular disease in a Phase Ill randomized controlled trial of 500 patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke, aged 55 years or older, and without dementia who are discharged home following hospitalization.
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.
The Care Ecosystem Consortium Effectiveness Study
DementiaDementia4 moreThe Care Ecosystem is an accessible, remotely delivered team-based dementia care model, designed to add value for patients, providers and payers in complex organizational and reimbursement structures. Care is delivered via the phone and web by unlicensed Care Team Navigators, who are trained and supervised by a team of dementia specialists with nursing, social work, and pharmacy expertise. The evidence base to date suggests that the Care Ecosystem improves outcomes important to people with dementia, caregivers, and payers when delivered in a controlled research environment, including reduced emergency department visits, higher quality of life for patients, lower caregiver depression, and reduced potentially inappropriate medication use (Possin et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2022). The investigators propose a rapid pragmatic trial in 6 health systems currently offering the Care Ecosystem program in geographically and culturally diverse populations. The investigators will leverage technology, delivering care via the phone and web and using electronic health records to monitor quality improvements and evaluate outcomes while maximizing external validity. The investigators will evaluate the effectiveness of the Care Ecosystem on outcomes important to patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and health systems during the pandemic. By evaluating the real-world effectiveness in diverse health systems that are already providing this model of care, this project will bridge the science-practice gap in dementia care during an unprecedented time of heightened strain on family caregivers, healthcare providers and health systems.
Telehealth-enabled Integrated Palliative Care for People With Dementia
Dementia of Alzheimer TypeAlzheimer Disease5 moreIn prior work, this team developed a telehealth primary care model (TIPC), designed in close partnership with patients and clinicians to address a widespread increase in telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research team will test the TIPC intervention to assess support for patients among a population of persons with dementia (PwD) over the course of 24 months. This study's aims are 1) to explore the impact of the TIPC intervention on patient-important outcomes, engagement with community-based support provided through insurers, advanced care planning (primarily identification of health-care proxy), and patterns of hospice and healthcare utilization in the target population and 2) to evaluate patient, caregiver, and clinical team perspectives of feasibility and acceptability of a TIPC model, and apply findings from this work to the development of a larger randomized control trial designed to assess long-term efficacy of TIPC intervention.
Urolithin A Supplementation in Middle-aged Adults With Obesity
ObesityVascular Dementia1 moreThe goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effect of urolithin A, a dietary supplement, on blood flow in middle-aged adults with obesity. The main question it aims to answer is: - Does urolithin A supplementation improve blood flow in large and small blood vessels in middle-aged adults with obesity? Participants will be asked to: Take the dietary supplement daily for 4 weeks Attend two study visits to have their blood vessels checked, answer questionnaires, and give a sample of blood Researchers will compare people who took the dietary supplement with others who took a placebo to see if the blood flow in the blood vessels improved.