Imagery in Early Stages of Dementia
Mental ImageryDementia of Alzheimer TypeThe purpose of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of mental imagery (MI) in subjects with early stage of dementia. The hypothesis of the study is that MI will have a beneficial effect in motor, cognitive and emotional state in this clinical population.
Mobile App Psychological Interventions for Family Dementia Caregivers
Family CaregiversFamily caregivers of persons with dementia often experience chronic stress and insomnia, resulting in decreased mental and physical health. Accessibility of in-person stress reduction therapy is limited due to caregiver time constraints and distance from therapy sites. The goal of this study is to address gaps in the literature regarding smartphone delivery of Mentalizing Imagery Therapy to older adult caregivers. Mentalizing Imagery Therapy (MIT) provides mindfulness and guided imagery tools to reduce stress, promote self and other understanding, and increase feelings of interconnectedness. This study aims to determine the clinical effects of App-delivered caregiver skills with MIT (experimental condition) or without MIT (control condition) on caregivers' perceived stress (primary outcome), as well as develop digital phenotypes of participant behaviors that are associated with clinical/psychological outcomes. Hypotheses include the following: at the 8 week timepoint, caregivers receiving MIT+CS-App will exhibit superiority on psychological outcome measures relative to those receiving CS-App alone (perceived stress being the primary outcome), that overall app usage will mediate improvements in perceived stress, and that the beneficial effects of the MIT+CS-App will remain significant at the 24-week follow-up.
Gamma-Induction in FrontoTemporal Dementia Trial
Frontotemporal DementiaThis is an interventional, sham controlled, double-blind study designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation, delivered for 6 weeks once daily in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. Cognition, gamma EEG activity and brain metabolism via FDG-PET will be measured before and after the tACS intervention.
Combining Acupuncture and Acupressure for Community-dwelling Elderly With Dementia
DementiaThis is an assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial. A total of 248 community-dwelling elderly people aged ≥65 years with a mid-mild to moderate dementia will be recruited from confirmed local 24 nursing and care homes. They will be randomly assigned to routine care, CAT, CAE, and CAT+CAE with n = 62 subjects each group. Subjects assigned to CAT, CAE, and CAT+CAE will respectively receive 2 sessions of CAT, 3 sessions of CAE, and a combination of both per week for 12 weeks. The primary outcome is baseline-to-endpoint change in score of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Secondary outcomes include various domains of MoCA, functional independence, psychological well-being; sleep quality, and level of pain. A generalized linear mixed-effect model will be used to compare outcomes over time among the four groups.
STRIDE: Stress Reduction in Dementia Caregivers
Caregiver StressThe investigators aim to conduct a feasibility, proof of concept randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a smartphone app intervention (Healthy Minds Program; HMP) versus Wellness app (WA) among heterogeneous stressed caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The investigators will test its feasibility (primary outcomes) and its preliminary effect in improvement in caregiver stress, emotional distress (depression and anxiety), sleep, and mindfulness. Participants will be randomized to one of the two conditions described above
A Pivotal Study of Sensory Stimulation in Alzheimer's Disease (Hope Study, CA-0011)
Alzheimer DiseaseAlzheimer Disease 137 moreThis is a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, adaptive-design pivotal study of sensory stimulation in subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Approximately 530 subjects will be randomized to 12 months of daily treatment with either Active or Sham Sensory Stimulation Systems. Efficacy will be measured using the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study- Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) assessment and a combined statistical test (CST) of the ADCS-ADL and the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE).
The Influence of the Otago Exercise Program on Executive Function Among People Living With Mild...
DementiaThe primary aim of this study is to conduct a pilot 6-month assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial to determine if the Otago Exercise Program plus usual care improves executive function in people living with mild to moderate dementia compared to usual care among those living in a nursing home or assisted living facility. The exploratory aims are to determine if the Otago Exercise Program plus usual care improves inflammatory blood biomarkers, kynurenine metabolites, epigenetics, mobility, balance, cognition, mood, fall-related self-efficacy, health-related quality of life, sleep, physical activity, and falls by sex and race compared to usual care alone among people living with mild to moderate dementia.
A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Effect of AVB-101, a Gene Therapy Product, in Subjects With a...
Frontotemporal DementiaFTD3 moreThe goal of this clinical study is to learn about an investigational gene therapy product called AVB-101, which is designed to treat a disease called Frontotemporal Dementia with Progranulin Mutations (FTD-GRN). FTD-GRN is an early-onset form of dementia, a progressive brain disorder that affects behavior, language and movement. These symptoms result from below normal levels of a protein called progranulin (PGRN) in the brain, which leads to the death of nerve cells (neurons), affecting the brain's ability to function. The main questions that the study aims to answer are: Is a one-time treatment with AVB-101 safe for patients with FTD-GRN? Does a one-time treatment with AVB-101 restore PGRN levels to at least normal levels? Could AVB-101 work as a treatment to slow down or stop progression of FTD-GRN? In this study there is no placebo (a dummy pill or treatment used for comparison purposes), so all participants will receive a one-time treatment of AVB-101 delivered directly to the brain, with follow-up assessments for 5 years.
The Safety and The Efficacy Evaluation of ET-STEM in Patients With Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal DementiaThe primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and the tolerability of 3 repeated doses of ET-STEM (Mesenchymal stem cells preconditioned with ethionamide) in patients with FTD.
The Role of Acupuncture-induced Exosome in Treating Post-stroke Dementia
ExosomePost-stroke Dementia1 moreStroke is the main cause of disability and the second main cause of dementia. Approximately 21.5% of patients develop dementia within 4 years after stroke. The main clinical manifestation of dementia is memory and cognitive impairment. At present, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists, were used for dementia treatment, but those drugs have limited efficacy. Exosome is an extracellular vesicle from the endosomal, size range from ~40 to 160 nm (average ~100 nm). It contains many cells including DNA, RNA, fat, and metabolites, as well as cytoplasm and cell surface proteins that play a role in regulating intercellular communication. Some studies believe that exosomes in the circulation are an ideal marker to reflect the pathological progress and recovery of stroke, and play a key role in the reorganization of tissues and the progress of neurodegeneration after stroke. Our previous studies have known that acupuncture can increase the long-term potentiation of hippocampal CA1 in rats with ischemic stroke, and improve learning-memory and neurological function. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of acupuncture-induced exosome in the treatment of post-stroke dementia.