Active clinical trials for "Cognitive Dysfunction"

Olfactory identification deficits occur in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), are associated with disease severity, predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD and are associated with healthy elderly subjects developing MCI. Odor (olfactory) identification deficits may reflect degeneration of cholinergic inputs to the olfactory bulb and other olfactory brain regions. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ACheI) like donepezil show modest effects in improving cognition but can be associated with adverse effects and increased burden and costs because of the need for prolonged, often lifelong, treatment. Converging findings on odor identification test performance (UPSIT, scratch and sniff 40-item test) from four pilot studies, including two of our own, suggest that acute change in the UPSIT in response to an anticholinergic challenge (atropine nasal spray), incremental change over 8 weeks, and even the baseline UPSIT score by itself, may predict cognitive improvement with ACheI treatment in MCI and AD. If change in odor identification deficits can help to identify which patients should receive ACheI treatment, this simple inexpensive approach will advance the goal of improving personalized treatment, improve selection and monitoring of patients for ACheI treatment, reduce needless ACheI exposure with risk of side effects, and decrease health care costs.

This is a steering group approved substudy to the Target Temperature Management trial (TTM, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01020916). TTM compares the effect of two strictly controlled temperature regimes for survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The primary aim of this sub-study is to compare the amount of cognitive impairment in cardiac arrest survivors treated with 33 degrees and 36 degrees and with a matched group of control patients with myocardial infarction. Our secondary aims are: To investigate the impact of cognitive impairment on our patients' ability to participate in society and their health related quality of life. To investigate the relationship between our patients cognitive impairments and their relatives/informants health related quality of life and feelings of burden. To test the hypothesis that the simple cognitive screening battery used in the TTM main trial is sensitive enough to detect all patients with significant cognitive disability.

This is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the effectiveness of cognitive and exercise training versus control condition on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Scientific studies in humans suggest that diets high in fruit and vegetables may be able to improve some aspects of mental performance such as improving memory and reaction times. One reason that that these improvements may occur is that these compounds contain phytochemicals which may increase blood flow and, therefore, the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain. If this is the case it is possible to measure this increased blood flow by a non-invasive technique called Near Infrared Spectroscopy. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a fruit juice on cerebral blood flow and cognitive function

Phase III randomized controlled trial designed to test the effects of a 3-year intervention of the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) on cognitive decline and brain neurodegeneration among 600 individuals 65+ years without cognitive impairment who are overweight and have suboptimal diets.

Cognitive impairment is also a major risk factor for development of dementia later in life. Findings from the investigators studies suggest that the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin may be important in cognitive function in the elderly. Avocados are a source of these carotenoids. The investigators study evaluates long-term avocado intervention as a treatment strategy for age-related cognitive impairment which could possibly prevent the onset of dementia. The investigators have also shown that lutein supplementation significantly improved verbal fluency scores in healthy older women. Based on these findings, the next logical step will be to investigate the ability of lutein and zeaxanthin contained in avocados to influence cognitive function in older adults. The investigators hypothesize that there will be a significant increase in cognitive function measures in older adults provided with meals containing 1 avocado/day at the end of 6 months, while no significant improvements will be observed in older adults given daily meals containing chickpeas and/or potatoes. The proposed study is designed as a randomized, placebo controlled trial that tests the effects of 6 month supplementation with 1 avocado/day on cognitive function in older adults. Secondary analyses will determine whether baseline macular pigment (lutein in retina which canbe measured non invasivley) density predicts relative effectiveness of the intervention on cognitive function. Secondary outcomes include plasma biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation.

The VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL; NCT 01169259) is an ongoing randomized clinical trial in 25,875 U.S. men and women investigating whether taking daily dietary supplements of vitamin D3 (2000 IU) or omega-3 fatty acids (Omacor® fish oil, 1 gram) reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people who do not have a prior history of these illnesses. This ancillary study is being conducted among participants in VITAL and will examine whether vitamin D or fish oil is associated with cognitive decline in 3000 older participants of VITAL.

This is a small pilot trial of a 5 month aerobic exercise intervention in participants with MCI (n=20) to begin to compare the effects of randomization to use an exercise buddy or to exercise without an assigned buddy. The investigators hypothesize that participants with MCI who exercise with a buddy will have higher adherence to the protocol and greater improvement in 400 meter walk time.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive screening program coupled with a computerized decision support system in improving the quality of care for hospitalized older adults with cognitive impairment.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using Donepezil to prevent post-operative cognitive decline (POCD) among individuals aged 65 and older who have a baseline mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and are undergoing elective hip or knee replacement.