Active clinical trials for "Neurocognitive Disorders"

This project will promote the development of transdisciplinary analyses. Neuropsychological disorders will be explored with the usual appropriate tests done by psychologists and neuropsychologists regularly involved in the management of sickle cell disease affected children. For the social sciences' component, various methods will be used: Measure of the Life habits (MHAVIE), Measure of Environmental Quality (MQE) and semi-guided interviews will complete the collection of qualitative data. The expected results concern the identification of the barriers or facilitators the sickle cell patients might face in their social participation, whether they are affected or not by neurological disorders.

Neurocognitive disorders and hypertension occur commonly with aging. While, by definition, older adults are at high cardiovascular risk, there is no guideline exist currently on blood pressure management of elderly hypertension. However, studies have shown that in aging adults, high blood pressure helps prevent against cognitive decline, and low blood pressure on antihypertensive drugs could accelerate it. This study aims at investigating if pharmacological treatment of hypertension in the very elderly is influenced by presence and severity of neurocognitive disorders. Our research hypothesis is that the drug management of hypertension in patients 80 years of age or older more is all the less aggressive as the neurocognitive disorders are advanced.

The purpose of the study is to determine the long-term safety and exploratory efficacy of NEUROSTEM®-AD, administered via an open brain surgery to subjects with dementia of the Alzheimer's type, who were eligible for and enrolled in the earlier part of the phase I. Aside from the subjects who completed the earlier part of the Phase I, 3 additional subjects with comparable demographics and disease characteristics as the treatment group will be enrolled into a control group, followed-up for 3 months, and compared for various disease progression indicators with the treatment group. The hypothesis is that NEUROSTEM®-AD is safe and effective in the treatment of dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

The main goal of the investigation is to identify the incidence of cognitive dysfunction and POD in patients older than 65 years of age undergoing neurosurgical elective surgery and determine if an association between cognitive dysfunction, basal NIRS and POD exists.

This study intends to evaluate the relationship between urinary albumin/creatinine ratio and postoperative neurocognitive impairment in elderly non-cardiac surgery patients. The results of the study are to identify risk factors, screen high-risk populations to improve clinical evidence, early detection and early treatment.And reducing the burden of PNCD on patients and their families, hospitals and public resources.

This study evaluates the usability of a new tablet PC application to stimulate cognitive functions. Patients hospitalized in a geriatric ward (day or complete hospitalisation) but also their informal and professional caregivers will assess the usability of the application using a structured survey.

The aging process tends to promote an overall increase in inflammation compromising the immunologic system regulation, sleep/wakefulness pattern, and neurocognitive performance. In elders, there is an increase in repetitive arousals during sleep, secondary to breathing interruption by pharynx collapse, generating a transient reduction in oxygen delivery to the brain known as obstructive sleep apnea. This lack in oxygen supply results in an inflammatory process producing brain damage. Some substances present in the blood seem to be associated to neurocognitive damage, like S100β protein, cortisol, interleukin 1-β,6 and TNF-α. In the other way, a substance called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhances cognitive function, and memory consolidation improvement.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains in infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for many years. Stopping HAART usually leads to re-emergence of small reservoirs of latent (inactive) HIV that reside inside certain types of infected cells, that can replicate and cause a full HIV infection. Chronic HIV infection also leads to long-term immune activation which is associated with higher incidence of serious non-AIDS events including cardiovascular disease and cancers. Thus HIV+ patients must remain on HAART indefinitely or replication-competent latent HIV reservoirs must be eradicated. The central nervous system (CNS) is a sanctuary site for latent HIV. For example, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) develop and persist in about 40% of HIV+ persons despite long-term HAART and viral suppression in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Continued CSF immune activation is also frequently observed despite viral suppression. Both of these are likely to indicate ongoing low-level HIV replication in the CNS. Several strategies to eradicate latent HIV are being explored. One of these, known as "shock and kill" involves "awakening" latent HIV and inducing replication to make it more susceptible to host immune responses and HAART. However, there are several major caveats to its application in the CNS such as the risk of triggering a serious immunoinflammatory response (e.g., meningoencephalitis) that cannot be easily controlled by HAART. Other eradication strategies may also be problematic given that many latency-reversing agents have limited penetration of the blood brain barrier and limited efficacy in astrocyte cells. To improve the effectiveness of new eradication therapies it will be crucial to develop better methods to identify and quantify latent HIV reservoir sites with greater precision. To identify potential HIV latency biomarkers in the CNS, the investigators will study HIV+ patients stable on HAART and virally-suppressed in blood and CSF over 24 months. Because such a marker should be associated with HAND or its development without changing significantly with HAND progression, half of the sample will have HAND at study entry and half will not. Patients will undergo neuropsychological testing and give blood and CSF samples every 6 months to identify candidate biomarkers and track them prospectively against HAND development and progression. MRI brain scan will also occur at study entry and after 24 months.

The general purpose of this observational study is to examine biomarkers associated with the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases to potentially develop novel therapeutic approaches.

Preliminary evidence suggest a possible relationship between Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) and perioperative neurocognitive disorders (NCD). We are going to investigate whether the values of NLR and PLR in patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia, are related with increased risk of perioperative NCD.