Active clinical trials for "Cognitive Dysfunction"

The objectives of this project are to examine amyloid burden and cognition in a group of subjects diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) before and after a six month course of insulin delivered weekly in a controlled pulsatile intravenous fashion in a clinical setting. The investigators central hypothesis is straightforward: The investigators predict that controlled pulsed IV infusion of insulin will improve cognition in patients with AD, and that this improvement will be correlated with a decrease in amyloid burden in these patients.

Supervised nonpharmacologic therapy improve cognitive function in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

The purpose of this study is to determine if blowing carbon dioxide into the surgical field during open-heart surgery to displace retained chest cavity air from the atmosphere will decrease the number of microembolic being introduced into the heart chambers and brain.

The physio-pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unknown and there is no cure. Thus, the search for objective markers of preclinical first signs of cognitive impairment, is currently a major public health issue. Early detection of the disease is a major challenge to hope to slow or even stop the neurodegenerative process before the stage of dementia. In AD the investigators observe: A reduction in the volume of brain hippocampi associated with an alteration of the diffusion of water molecules in the white matter. A structural brain degeneration coupled with a decrease in cerebral glucose metabolism. Recent publications show that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)flow is also altered, probably due to dysfunction of the choroid plexus. Hence the potential interest to study is, in addition to conventional imaging, the imaging of CSF dynamics and choroid plexus metabolism. In that aim,the investigators use two imaging modalities: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to assess blood and CSF flow in the brain Positron emission tomography (PET) is used to assess glucose metabolism in grey/white matter and also in choroid plexus. The investigators expect that, because of choroid plexus atrophy in AD, CSF flow would be altered as well as glucose metabolism dynamic in choroid plexus.

This project will develop and test the effects and mechanisms of a music improvisation training intervention on self-regulation of older adults with and without MCI. The investigator's overall hypothesis is that improvisation training will lead to improvements in self-regulation, compared to controls, and that improvisation training will be associated with specific changes in prefrontal brain networks and ultimately cognitive engagement.

Volatile anesthetics interfere with cerebral blood flow and reperfusion-ischemia injury via the mechanism known as a preconditioning. A transient deterioration of local hemodynamics and oxygenation during carotid endarterectomy (CEE) might involve both hemispheres of brain and affect postoperative cognitive function. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of anesthetics on perioperative cerebral oxygenation and cognitive functions.

Systemic arterial hypertension is a disease with high prevalence in several countries, including Brazil. Many studies have correlated hypertension with accelerated loss of cognitive function, especially executive functions. There is some evidence that working memory (WM) is compromised in these populations. However, some computerized training has been developed to rehabilitate the WM, and among them the investigators highlight the Cogmed. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of Cogmed training in the performance of WM and attention of hypertensive patients, as well as the impact of training in the structure and brain function.

Investigators wish to identify a relationship between substantial changes in carbon dioxide partial-pressure (pCO2), which frequently occur during the transitions from rest to exercise (ΔpCO2 >4 millimeters of mercury [mmHg] from baseline), and the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in COPD. In particular, it is anticipated to investigate the vascular effect of pCO2 oscillations in the regulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) during exercise and its impact on cognitive function in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Furthermore, this study aims to examine whether major pCO2 oscillations have prognostic value in cognitive deterioration at 6, 12, and 18-month follow-up. In addition, the acute effect of 3-week pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on cognitive function will be explored. The evaluation of cognitive function will be performed by the use of Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE-R), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) assessing several cognitive domains (cognitive scores) whereas Stroop test [color reading interference] will be used for measuring cognitive performance (Reaction-Time).

This study is geared toward characterizing the recovery of brain activity and cognitive function following treatments of electroconvulsive therapy and ketamine general anesthesia.

For almost 17 % of cases patients over 75 years are sent for inappropriate reasons to the emergency unit. They are described as inappropriate hospitalization because they don't require the use of technical platform or diagnostic neither therapeutic procedures under medical supervision. Those are inappropriate because the patient could have a paramedical and social care at home or in more efficient structures. The hospital remains the place of remedy for social and health situations whose resolution was not possible because of a lack of infrastructure available, of patient or his relative information, or a lack of coordination in medico-social establishment. These inappropriate hospitalizations involve an increase of length of stay that enhancing the fragility and vulnerability of the elderly. They have deleterious effects as decompensation, comorbidities and loss of autonomy. Moreover, the suffering of natural or informal caregivers is also an important public health question; Caregivers may have a serious disease resulting from caring their relative. That leads to increase their consumption of health care and medical goods. This comprehensive study will highlight the deficiencies of the actual health care through the analysis of the speech of the different parts involved (main study). Simultaneously, a comparative analysis of the costs of health care will be conducted (economic combined study).