Active clinical trials for "Dementia"

Background: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a therapy that helps people to notice and accept difficult thoughts and emotions. ACT also helps people to identify what they value in life (e.g. a good relationship with their partner) and make changes to their behaviour to promote these values. Carers of people with dementia may experience reduced wellbeing associated with their role. Those whose wellbeing is greater than previously are said to be 'flourishing'. Aim: The aim of this feasibility study is to evaluate the potential value of ACT as a group intervention for carers of people with dementia. Methods: Participants will include adult carers of people with dementia. Study participants will be identified from two older people community mental health teams. Informed consent will be sought prior to group invitations being sent out. There will be two groups in total (12 in each group) and both groups will attend three 2.5 hour sessions of ACT. All participants will complete questionnaires at the beginning and 21 days later (asking questions about their thoughts and feelings, flourishing and about being a carer). Eight group participants will be invited to a focus group to understand what they found more helpful and less helpful. Applications: Results from this study will potentially provide useful information to enable a further study with more participants to be conducted. The outcomes of this study will be shared with older people community mental health teams, dementia and carer specialist groups and potentially published in a relevant journal.

Excessive memory decline or dementia affects an increasing number of women as they become older. The frequency of dementia doubles every 5 years beginning at age 60, making the discovery of ways to prevent or slow the disease imperative. Previous studies have indicated that changes in memory may be associated with the female hormonal decline that occurs after menopause, but more research is needed to establish the link between menopause and poorer memory function. It is believed that taking the female hormones estrogen and/or progesterone may help improve women's health by protecting against memory decline. This study will evaluate the effects of female hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the development and progression of memory loss in older women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study.

The purpose of this observational study is to obtain the current status of patients with Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia. This study is also expected to further provide insight into the evolution of behavioral and psychotic symptoms and its relationship with treatment as well as severity of cognitive declines in a naturalistic setting.

Cognitive disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD) are not as obvious as cognitive disorders in Alzheimer disease and their diagnosis tends to be delayed. If neuropsychological assessment of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease is well established, the thresholds of cognitive testing corresponding to a dementia are unknown. Recently, new diagnosis criteria of dementia associated with PD have been proposed by the movement disorder society. In this study two groups of patients with idiopathic PD will be separated and compared according to their Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (upper or lower than 26). Included patients will have clinically idiopathic PD, will be over 65 years old and will present cognitive complain. Cognitive and mood disorders as well as motor symptoms will be assessed using validated scales and a neuropsychological assessment dispatched in two visits will be performed . Differences in the distribution of data from the two groups of patients will be assessed in statistically analysis with non parametric tests. The purpose of this study is to determine the most effective tests and their threshold value corresponding to a pathological cognitive decline.

The proposed study will adapt and pilot test an efficacious advance care planning interventions, Sharing Patient's Illness Representations to Increase Trust (SPIRIT), with patients with mild dementia and their surrogates to promote open, honest discussions while such discussions about end-of-life care are possible. Patient and surrogate decision maker dyads will participate in a single SPIRIT session and will then have a follow up phone call 2-3 days later. One year after the SPIRIT session some surrogates will be contacted to provide additional feedback about the intervention.

Background: Dementia rates are increasing worldwide and consequently burden global healthcare resources to a serious degree. However, there is a declining number of caregivers to provide care. It is for this reason that many new technologies, such as socially assistive robots, have been developed because of their potential to support caregivers in promoting the independence of people with dementia. Most of the (socially assistive) robots have so far been tested for people without dementia in mainly laboratory or institutional settings, like nursing homes. Consequently, there is a lack of knowledge about the possible uses of robots from the perspective of those affected by dementia in real-life/care situations (e.g. at home). Testing in a laboratory setting cannot capture the complexity and high variability of everyday situations occurring during the care of persons with dementia. Methods The design is a mixed method intervention study of a refined socially assistive humanoid robot. In total, three people with dementia, three relatives, three dementia trainers and three professional caregivers were included in the study. Quantitative data of technology acceptance were collected using the "Technology Usage Inventory". Qualitative data (main focus: experiences with the robot and handling the robot) were collected by means of observation and qualitative interviews. Movement data of people with dementia were collected by means of the eye camera of the robot. This study helps to further refine and test a socially assistive robot for people with dementia living at home.

This is a study designed to pilot a WOOP (Wish Outcome Obstacle Plan) intervention for spouses of persons with early stage dementia for the purposes of future research. The investigators will be using two cohorts. One who will get the intervention and the other who will be wait listed and receive the intervention at a later date. Spouses of persons with dementia will use WOOP, a brief goal attainment sequence, every day for 16 days. Participants will complete surveys before the intervention, at Day 16, and at a 3-month follow-up. The outcome measures are goal attainment, emotion regulation skills, psychological health, and support quality. As of 9/2020 this entire study is being conducted remotely.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two of the most common types of age-related neurodegenerative disorders. Identifying at-risk patients and gauging disease progression in a non-invasive manner would be invaluable. Early and correct diagnosis is crucial for coordinating supportive care, patient expectations, caregiver arrangements and family planning. In addition, as treatments become available, beginning therapy early in the disease before symptoms become severe will be important. Multimodal ocular imaging (MOI) includes an ophthalmic (eye) exam and eye photographs to evaluate different layers of the retina, which is the light sensing layer of the eye. Newer technologies make it possible to visualize the disease process occurring in AD and FTD by using MOI to look at the retina, since the retina is fundamentally an outward extension of the brain itself. This study will attempt to correlate signs of disease in the retina, as determined by MOI, with plaque buildup in the brain as seen by imaging. This will demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of MOI for diagnosing AD and FTD in a noninvasive manner.

In cohort studies, a Mediterranean Dietary Pattern (MDP) has been consistently associated with reduced dementia incidence. The efficacy of a MDP to prevent dementia has never been directly demonstrated by RCTs, with existing research limited to cognition as a secondary outcome. Furthermore, despite their likely additive effects, the combined impact of Physical Activity (PA) and a MDP on dementia risk is unknown. MedEx-UK is a RCT that will evaluate the feasibility of a multi-domain intervention to increase Mediterranean Dietary Pattern (MDP) adherence and physical activity (PA) in a group of older UK adults who are at above average risk of dementia.

To determine the feasibility and acceptability of the Care Ecosystem program in the Ochsner clinical setting. To assess the effect of the Care Ecosystem program on health care cost and quality care quality as measured by primary outcome variables. Adapted from the Care Ecosystem, memory.ucsf.edu/Care-Ecosystem