Active clinical trials for "Cognitive Dysfunction"

Patients of vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCIND) in one group is prescribed cilostazol,in the other group is prescribed aspirin. Evaluate both of them in cognitive function, MRI and other sides at given time. The investigators hypothesize that cilostazol is more efficient and safer than aspirin in patients with VCIND.

The study is designed to evaluate whether a florbetapir F 18 PET scan can impact clinical thinking when physicians are determining the likely cause of a subject's cognitive impairment.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction describes a condition where cognitive functions such as attention, perception, concentration, learning, abstract thinking and problem solving are impaired postoperatively. These changes can be resolved after weeks and months, but in some cases may be permanent. The aetiology is multifactorial. One risk factor for developing POCD is the occurrence of postoperative delirium. A total of 638 consecutive patients will be enrolled in the study. Patients will be followed up at 7 days, 3 months and 1 year postoperatively. The cognitive function will be tested and compared to tests done before surgery. Postoperatively (from the day of operation until the 7th day and except of day 6) the grade of sedation; agitation; signs of delirium; pain; cardiac; respiratory; renal and infectious complications will be recorded. As possible influencing factors, the investigators will document diagnosed depression; comorbidities; intraoperative blood loss; length of hospital stay; 1-year-mortality; number of operations/anaesthetics undergone after the initial operation. Parameters that could trigger either depressive symptoms, neurocognitive dysfunction, anxiety, fatigue or lack of concentration will be recorded. These include: anaemia, hypercalcaemia, thyroidal gland hormones, electrolytes, creatinine, urea, glomerular filtration rate, cortisone therapy and adrenal cortical insufficiency.

The long-term goal of this study is to evaluate cognitive function preoperatively and develop techniques of intervention in the perioperative period which would optimize brain function and functional recovery following surgery.

This study is intended to clarify the benefits to brain health and thinking processes that result from different forms of exercise. In particular, this study will investigate the possible benefits of physical exercise (such as pedaling an under-table stationary elliptical) or mental exercise (such as playing a videogame on a portable tablet), or combining these activities together (as in the iPACES™ exergame).

This study protocol proposes an EEG based neurofeedback (EEG-NFB) technique to upregulate the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in patients suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). EEG-NFB has been successfully used as a clinical tool for over 40 years. It is based on electrical activity measured near the surface of the brain using EEG and fed back to the patient within half a second. MCI is a clinical condition considered as a precursor of AD. NFB appears to be a promising approach to treat MCI, since it has been shown to be able to induce changes in brain plasticity. This research focuses on the PCC, which has been reported to be implicated in MCI, and due to its location (proximity to the surface) accessible by means of EEG- NFB. A preliminary research in MCI patients, conducted at our lab showed the lower the memory score was at the beginning of the training, the better a subject managed to improve later on. The investigators therefore presume that patients with early Alzheimer's disease, whose cognitive ability is more affected compared to MCI, may benefit from EEG-NFB as well, and maybe to a larger extent compared to MCI.

Background: Older diabetic people are at greater risk of cognitive decline than non-diabetic people. Vitamin B12 deficiency in older people is associated with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin B12 deficiency may therefore contribute to cognitive decline in older diabetic people. Objective: To determine whether the correction of mild vitamin B12 deficiency in cognitively normal older diabetic people reduces the incidence of cognitive decline. Design: randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial Subject: Cognitively normal diabetic outpatients aged 70 years or older with plasma vitamin B12 150-300 pmol/L in medical and family medicine/ general outpatient clinics. Procedure: After excluding those with clinical manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency and without family member who can reliably inform on cognitive functioning (personal contact at least once a week), eligible patients will be invited to participate in this clinical trial. After obtaining written consent, research assistant (RA) will record demographic and clinical information from the subjects and perform neuropsychological tests - 1. Clinical dementia rating scale (CDR), 2. neurocognitive test battery (see below) 3. Chinese Mini mental state examination (MMSE), 4. Geriatric depression scale (GDS). Fasting blood will be taken for serum methylmalonic acid (MMA). Those with cognitive impairment and significant comorbidities will be excluded. 264 eligible subjects will be randomly assigned to take either two Vitamin B12 500 microgram or two identical looking placebo tablets once daily for 27 months. All subjects or family caregivers are reviewed in the research clinic every 12 weeks in which the research assistant performs a pill count and dispenses the trial tablets. At 9 monthly intervals, the subjects will have neurocognitive test battery repeated at research clinic. CDR will be repeated at month 18 and 27. At month 9 and 27, fasting serum MMA and vitamin B12 will be repeated.

This study sought to investigate the changes in objective memory performance (including immediate recall and delayed recall), subjective memory complaints and degree of depression in older adults with mild cognitive impairment after Virtual interactive memory training (VIMT).

Diabetes has become important risk factors for threatening human life and health. Studies have shown that chronic hyperglycemia lead to microvascular brain injury. The more common types of dementia are Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cognitive dysfunction is a precursor to Alzheimer's disease. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a cognitive impairment between normal aging and dementia, mainly manifested as memory impairment, especially episode memory defects, but also named obstacles, but the overall cognitive function is normal, daily life ability is normal. Studies have shown that middle-aged diabetic patients' cognitive ability will decline by about 19% in 20 years compared to people without diabetes. Sulfur amino acid is the indispensable amino acid in mammals, and its metabolites include Taurine, Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Taurine was first isolated more than 150 years ago from ox (Taurus) bile. Although the taurine can be synthesized in vivo by cysteine in the presence of cysteine dioxygenase, it is mainly acquired from dietary sources, such as eggs, meat, and seafood. H2S is a biologically relevant mediator and plays potential roles in several physiological processes and disease states in the body. H2S is synthesized from 2 sulfur-containing amino acids, l-cysteine andl-methionine, by the 3 enzymes,cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE), cystathionine-β-synthetase(CBS), and3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST). Previous studies have demonstrated that Taurine and H2S may play important roles in the development of themicroangiopathy and lower extremity arterial occlusive.

Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a fairly well-documented clinical phenomenon. Investigators will determine whether amantadine can reduce the occurrence of POCD in elderly patients with major abdominal surgery.