Active clinical trials for "Dementia"

The goal of this study is to develop a large longitudinal cohort of individuals diagnosed with or at high risk for brain diseases (both neurological and psychiatric in nature), in order to identify risk factors that contribute to neurological and psychiatric diseases over time. The investigators seek to capture relevant information from medical records, electronically administered questionnaires and follow up phone-based interviews. The investigators expect to eventually have sufficient power from our dataset to examine risk factors for a variety of brain disorders, both individually and in aggregate. Our ultimate goal is to offer scientifically validated ways to preserve and promote brain health by working with our patients' needs and tracking their progress over time.

Alzheimer disease is the most common of the neurodegenerative diseases. Epilepsy and sleep wake disorders are co-morbid conditions of Alzheimer disease. The investigators propose a prospective study using long-term EEG monitoring in combination with polysomnography to determine prevalence of epilepsy and sleep wake disorders in Alzheimer disease, and correlate these findings with clinical data, Alzheimer disease biomarkers and imaging studies (MRI and amyloid/tau-PET). In selected patients, the investigators will perform EEG studies with foramen ovale electrodes. The ultimate goal is to improve the outcome of patients with Alzheimer disease by early treatment of epilepsy and restoring sleep-wake disturbances.

Many elderly patients undergoing surgical procedures already have impaired cognitive (memory/concentration) status. Patients with pre-existing cognitive impairment, or dementia, may benefit from modified anesthesia techniques. It is estimated that one in eight people age 65 and older has Alzheimers disease. More so, nearly half of people that are 85 years or older have Alzheimers disease. Currently, both spinal (regional) and inhalational (general) anesthesia, are used in patients undergoing common urological, orthopedic, and general surgical procedures. Inhalational anesthesia has been associated with higher risk of memory impairment in experimental (animal) and human studies. However, currently, there are simply no large or good enough studies to be sure that inhalational anesthesia is responsible for causing dementia and Alzheimers disease.The proposed study investigates if elderly patients (65 years and older) undergoing spinal anesthesia (patient is awake or slightly sedated) are less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimers disease for up to 2 years after surgery, when compared to inhalational anesthesia (patient is kept asleep with gas anesthetic). The investigators will also test all patients for the presence of apolipoprotein (ApoE-Îμ4 type of gene that is present in 15-20% of patients), and beta-amyloid tau protein (present in cerebrospinal fluid) that are known risk factors for Alzheimers disease. The particular strength of this study is that it takes into account whether the frequency and/or severity of dementia and Alzheimers disease is different in patients with and without these markers. The investigators believe that this study will make a major contribution to better understanding of development of Alzheimers disease.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the brain activity associated with cognitive tasks (thinking, reasoning, remembering) in order to understand how the brain works during certain tasks and to improve treatment for diseases like dementia and attention deficit disorders. Cognitive (thinking) impairment may include poor memory function, poor attention span, or psychiatric disorders (ex: ADD, depression). The investigators are interested in the brain activity related to these issues, and want to investigate changes in brain activity while we record activity from specific areas of the brain. These recordings are in addition to clinical (routine or standard of care) recordings being performed to monitor for seizures and do not impact the clinical care.

Scalp to cortex distance (SCD), as a key technological parameter of brain stimulation, has been highlighted in the guidelines of non-invasive brain stimulation. However, in the context of age-related brain changes, the region-specific SCD and its impact on stimulation-induced electric field in different types of neurodegenerative diseases remain unclear.

The primary goals of this study are to use optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (blood vessel mapping) to: Detect retinal blood vessel and blood flow changes in participants with dementia. Detect amyloid protein deposits in the retinas of participants with dementia.

This study will be conducted as a multi-center, open label study in the US. There will be 40 patient to receive the active investigational product.

This is a descriptive, explorative study in which we will explore how the role of Dementia Champions in homecare services could develop, and become more widely implemented in this sector's workforce.

Difficulties in performing instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) is often an indicator of cognitive decline in older adults, and monitoring IADL and daily functioning can assist in early diagnosis of dementia. The current methods for assessment of IADL are often restricted to a single domain assessment (e.g. managing medication), or rely on subjective reporting by the patient or caregivers. Patients with mild AD typically lack awareness of their IADL deficits and generally overestimate their functional capacity. Proxies are also not always a reliable source of information, as they have a tendency to over or underestimate IADL deficits. In some cases, a proxy is not available or does not have enough knowledge about the patient's functional capacity. Direct measures taken during performance of IADL-related tasks in the clinic have better validity and do not suffer from reporter bias. However, they allow observation of only a small set of tasks and, even then, are quite time-consuming. To date, there are no objective methods for continuous and remote monitoring and assessment of IADL. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has identified this need and released a specific request for SBIR/STTR applications. In response, BioSensics, in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), proposes to develop and commercialize a robust system for objective and continuous remote monitoring of IADL. This innovative platform, called IADLSys, will detect the timing and type of IADL for a wide range of daily functions, and will also monitor the user's physical activity and life-space.

OBJECTIVES: The primary study objective is to collect blood from participants with Huntington's Disease in order to validate a CE marked Cytosine, Adenine, Guanine (CAG) assay for use in future studies for Huntington's Disease. The secondary study objective is to create a biorepository that can be used to identify disease associated biomarkers and potential targets with immune and multi-omics profiling. The disease sample collection and analysis will be the foundation for an extensive network of biospecimen access and linked datasets for future translational research.