
To Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Ceftriaxone in Patients With Mild to Moderate Parkinson's Disease...
Parkinson's Disease DementiaThis is a randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled Phase II study to investigate the efficacy and safety of ceftriaxone in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD).This study will enroll approximately 106 patients to have up to 84 evaluable subjects, and conduct in Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, National Taiwan University Hospital, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, China Medical University Hospital, Changhua Christian Hospital, and Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

Individualized Brain Stimulation to Improve Mobility in Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer DementiaPresenile Alzheimer Dementia1 moreThe objective of this study is to conduct a pilot, randomized sham-controlled trials to determine the feasibility and effects of a 10-session personalized tDCS intervention targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on cognitive function, dual task standing and walking, and other metrics of mobility in 24 older adults with mild AD living in supportive housing.

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.

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.

Evaluation of a Transcranial Stimulation With Direct Current on Language Disorders in Semantic Dementia...
Semantic DementiaWithin the spectrum of fronto-temporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) semantic dementia (SD) causes profound language dysfunction. SD damages semantic processing typically in the temporal poles (anterior temporal lobes, ATL). It is an early onset disease (often before 65 years of age) affecting about 4000 patients in France and for which no validated treatment is available. For several years a growing number of studies have explored the effects of transcranial stimulation (TCS) on aphasic patients following stroke. Several studies have targeted left-sided language areas and/or homotopical right-sided regions with excitatory or inhibitory TCS, respectively, according to the principle of inter-hemispheric inhibition. In addition, repetitive multi-day TCS has provided evidence for long-lasting language effects (>6 months) presumably linked to stimulation-induced neuroplasticity. Such investigations have provided promising results and have demonstrated that the stimulation site is a determining factor by showing that stimulation of cortical areas belonging to the language network usually results in more convincing effects than stimulating areas outside that network. Despite these findings the use of TCS in degenerative language diseases, such as primary progressive aphasias including SD, has only been explored in few small cohort studies and, surprisingly, they have not targeted language-related cortices. This project proposes the application of multi-day repetitive TCS with direct current (tDCS) in a large population of SD patients (N=60). It is built on a exploratory investigation of our team which has used three single tDCS sessions in a double-blind sham-controlled study. Excitatory and inhibitory tDCS to the left and right temporal pole, respectively, demonstrated highly significant transient effects (20 min) on semantic processing in 12 SD patients, providing 'proof of concept' and the rationale for this project. The aim here consists of using repetitive multi-day tDCS for a potential therapeutic outcome leading to long-lasting semantic improvement via neuroplasticity. The project is grounded on 2 hypotheses: i) tDCS to temporal poles (left-excitatory, right-inhibitory) reactivates semantic processing in SD, ii) repetitive tDCS during ten days could induce neuroplasticity and therapeutic language improvement.

Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression in Elderly Care
DementiaDepressionThis study evaluates the effectiveness of two music-based approaches - group music therapy and recreational choir singing - for reducing depression symptoms in people living with dementia. It also examines mechanisms and heterogeneity of treatment effects.

Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial of LY3884963 in Patients With Frontotemporal Dementia With Progranulin...
Frontotemporal DementiaStudy J4B-MC-OKAA is a Phase 1/2, multi-center, open-label ascending dose, first-in-human study that will evaluate the safety and effect of intra-cisternal LY3884963 administration on progranulin protein (PGRN) levels in patients with frontotemporal dementia with progranulin mutations (FTD-GRN). Two escalating dose (low dose and medium dose) cohorts are planned, as well as one bridging cohort which will allocate patients to receive either low or medium dose. The duration of the study is 5 years. During the first year, patients will be evaluated for the effect of LY3884963 on safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, biomarkers, and efficacy. Patients will follow up for an additional 4 years to monitor safety and changes on selected biomarkers and clinical outcomes.

Subgenual Cingulate Deep Brain STIMulation for Apathetic Behavioral Variant FRONtotemporal Dementia...
Frontotemporal DementiaDeep Brain StimulationFrontotemporal dementia (FTD), the most common dementia in individuals younger than 60 years of age, has no disease-modifying treatment. Neuroimaging studies have revealed salience and default mode network dysfunction, frontotemporal atrophy and hypometabolism as pathophysiological hallmarks of behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD). A key brain structure affected by bvFTD is the subgenual cingulate (SGC), which serves as a hub for multi-axonal projections to and from the ventromedial prefrontal, dorsal anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal, and dorsolateral frontal cortices, and limbic structures. The disruption of these SGC projections in bvFTD result in the core clinical features of apathy, disinhibition, loss of empathy, compulsivity, hyperorality and loss of executive function. The central goal of this proposal is to use deep brain stimulation (DBS) for modulation of the SGC downstream projections to treat bvFTD. Investigators hypothesize that SGC DBS will drive activity in the dysfunctional networks, reverse hypometabolism, and potentially improve symptoms. To determine the physiologic effects and mechanisms of SGC DBS, investigators will assess cerebral metabolism by FDG-PET, connectivity by rsfMRI and MEG, atrophy by volumetric MRI, and neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory biomarkers. The safety and preliminary efficacy data obtained in these patients will inform the possible future role of DBS in apathetic bvFTD.

Comparison of Two Group Wellness Interventions for Individuals With Neurologic Conditions and Their...
Traumatic Brain InjuryMild Traumatic Brain Injury4 moreApproximately 5.3 million people live with a long-term disability resulting from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and between 5-8% of those older than 60 suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia (ADRD). Consequences of these conditions can result in dramatic and persistent changes in functioning, impacting not only the patients, but also loved ones who become informal support persons. Many existing services help the family in the moment, but do not address long-term wellness. Thus, the purpose of this research study is to compare the effect of two different types of group wellness treatments for individuals with chronic mild TBI, moderate to severe TBI, and ADRD and their support persons.

A Study of PBFT02 in Patients With Frontotemporal Dementia and Progranulin Mutations (FTD-GRN)
Frontotemporal DementiaPBFT02 is a gene therapy for frontotemporal dementia intended to deliver a functional copy of the GRN gene to the brain. This study will assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of this treatment in patients with frontotemporal dementia and mutations in the progranulin gene (FTD-GRN).