Active clinical trials for "Neurocognitive Disorders"

Background: Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in ageing population and patients with age-related neurodegenerative diseases, which severely affect cognition and even lead to accumulated amyloid-β (Aβ). At present, non-pharmacological interventions for sleep disturbances in dementia patients are accepted as first line of treatment, of which the evidence from clinical trials is very limited. Encouraging results from recent studies on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) showed moderate positive effects on sleep quality in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). Compared to tDCS, high-definition transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS) enables the entrainment of neuronal activities with optimized focality through injecting small electric current with a specific frequency and has significant enhancement effects on slow wave activities. Objectives: The investigators aim to 1) investigate and compare the safety, efficacy and sustainability of 40 Hz HD-tACS and HD-tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in mild neurocognitive disorder due to AD (NCD-AD) patients with sleep disturbances; 2) examine the relationship between the changes in sleep quality, cognitive function and saliva Aβ levels. Methods: Chinese right-handed mild NCD-AD patients with sleep disturbances (aged from 60 to 90 years) will be randomly assigned to a 4-week intervention of either HD-tACS, HD-tDCS, or sham HD-tCS, with 33 participants per arm. Before intervention, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data is used to construct individual realistic head model. Comprehensive assessments, including sleep quality, cognitive performance and saliva Aβ levels will be conducted at baseline, 4th week, 8th week, 12th week and 24th week. Program adherence and adverse effects will be monitored throughout intervention. Data analysis: The primary outcomes will be the changes in sleep quality and memory performance with modality-driven paradigms (HD-tACS, HD-tDCS, sham HD-tCS), and comparisons of group differences across different time points. Secondary outcomes will be the changes objective sleep pattern, global cognition, saliva Aβ levels and quality of life. Intention-to-treat analysis will be carried out. Changes of efficacy indicators from baseline to each follow up point will be tested with mixed effect model. Significance: This study aims to investigate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of HD-tACS and HD-tDCS over left DLPFC for sleep disturbances and cognitive dysfunction in mild NCD-AD patients. It wills also test the program adherence, tolerability and adverse effects of this innovative neurotechonology. Information will be helpful for in-depth understanding the relationship of "sleep disturbances-amyloid deposition" and guiding the further studies of sleep medicine and neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: A significant proportion of older adults suffered from age-related diseases particularly dementia, also known as major neurocognitive disorder (NCD), which is becoming a worldwide health burden. In principle, Interventions for dementia should have optimal benefits at the earliest preclinical stage yet no evidence has been found to support a particular pharmacological approach in preventing cognitive decline during the stage of mild NCD. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), on the other hand, is increasingly recognized as a potential alternative to tackle this problem. Typical NIBS include transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A new kind of NIBS named Transcranial Pulse stimulation (TPS) is also recently used for treating patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).TPS is a kind of NIBS that uses repetitive sin ultrashort pulses in the ultrasound frequency range to stimulate the brain, and it can provide better spatial precision and reach deeper brain regions comparing to tDCS and TMS. The mechanism of TPS is to convert the mechanical TPS stimulus into biochemical responses, thus influence some fundamental cell functions. A recent study showed that there is a significant improvement in using TPS in treating AD. However, there has been no study investigating the effect of TPS on older adults with mild NCD. Objective: This study is an open-label self-controlled study to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of TPS on cognition in older adults with mild NCD. We hypothesized that a 2-week TPS intervention could significantly improve patient's global cognition which will be maintained for 12 weeks. Design: The current study is an open-label self-controlled interventional trial of TPS guided by neuro-navigation using structural MRI. All participants will undergo the treatment as usual (TAU) period as self-controlled for 12 weeks. They will then receive a six-session TPS intervention for 2 weeks with three sessions per week. A 12 weeks post-intervention assessment will then be conducted. Data Analysis: Primary outcome and secondary outcomes assessment would be carried out at baseline, after TAU period, immediately after the intervention and 12 weeks after the intervention. The primary outcome will be the change of the Hong Kong Chinese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HK-MoCA). The secondary outcome includes specific cognitive domains, daily functioning, mood, and apathy. The intention-to-treat analysis would be carried out. Significance: The result of the current study would provide further data on the effectiveness and tolerability of TPS as a new treatment in patients with mild NCD.

Background: Dementia, now known as major neurocognitive disorder (NCD), is a great health burden in Hong Kong and worldwide. In principle, to achieve its optimal benefits, intervention for dementia should begin at the earliest preclinical stage, which is defined as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, no evidence has been found to support a pharmacological approach to the prevention or postponement of cognitive decline during the stage of mild NCD. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) is increasingly recognized as a potential alternative to tackle this problem. The typical examples of NIBS are transcranial direct current stimulation (DCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (MS). Besides these, there is a new NIBS named transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS), which recently obtained CE marking in 2018 for the treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). TPS is using repetitive single ultrashort pulses in the ultrasound frequency range to stimulate the brain. With a neuro-navigation device, TPS can achieve this in a highly focal and precisely targeted manner. TPS differs from DCS and TMS using direct or induced electric current. Instead, TPS provides good spatial precision and resolution to noninvasively modulate subcortical areas, despite the problem of skull attenuation. Using lower ultrasound frequencies TPS can successfully improve skull penetration in humans. TPS has shown its neuroprotective effects through inducing long term neuroplastic changes, supported by neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging investigations both in animal and human studies. Mild NCD is a golden period for intervention to avoid further progression to dementia. Although TPS has great potential as a new treatment option due to its neuroprotective effects, there is no TPS study done on mild CD subjects according to our knowledge. To determine the effectiveness of TPS in mild NCD, an open-label pilot study was conducted by our team from Dec 2020 to Dec 2021. The preliminary result was presented in the 2021 Brain Stimulation Conference and published in abstract format. We recruited 16 older adults who had mild CD. They received 6 sessions of TPS over 2 weeks. Assessments were done at the 3 time points. No subjects dropped out during the study. Statistically significant improvement was found in the primary outcome, HK-MoCA, from 18.06 to 20.25. The improvement was maintained till 12 weeks after the TPS intervention. No adverse effect was observed. The result suggested that TPS is likely to have an immediate effect on global cognition in mild CD, and the improvements were sustainable. However, a 2-week treatment duration may not be long enough to induce a significant change in neurodegenerative disease in long term. Up to date, there is no long-term NIBS treatment done on NCD. Therefore, we plan to conduct a pilot case-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of long-term TPS on cognition and brain structure in patients with mild ND based on the results of our pilot study. Objective: This study is to determine the efficacy of a 24-week program (32 sessions) of TPS in older adults with mild NCD. We hypothesized that TPS group is significantly more effective than control group in maintain or improve the global cognitive function measured by Hong Kong Chinese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HK-MoCA) in patients with mild NCD. Design: This case-controlled trial will assess the efficacy of a 24-week TPS program on cognition and brain structure in subjects with mild NCD. All eligible participants will receive an intervention trial of TPS. They would receive 2 sets of stimulation programs, each set lasting 12-weeks. Participants would receive 3 sessions/week in the first 2 weeks and then 1 session/week in the subsequent 10 weeks. A total of 32 sessions (2 sets of 16 sessions) ofTPS will be delivered, with each session lasting 30 minutes. Data Analysis: The primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the 1st set of stimulation program (12th week), 2nd set of stimulation program (24th week), and 12 weeks after the intervention (36th week). The primary outcome will be the change of the Hong Kong Chinese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (HK-MoCA). The secondary outcome includes specific cognitive domains, daily functioning, mood, and apathy. The intention-to-treat analysis would be carried out. Pre and post-intervention brain MRI scans will be used during the intervention to evaluate the changes in brain structure. A checklist of potential adverse effects associated with TPS administration will be generated from the available literature. Blood pressure and heart rate will be recorded at the beginning and at the end of the TPS intervention course.

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of comprehensive multimodal individually tailored Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT), and modifiable lifestyle sessions. The study team hypothesizes that combining evidence-based cognitive and affective therapies with lifestyle modifications is feasible and will improve the community integration (CI) and Quality of life (QoL) in patients with a neurocognitive disorder compared to usual care.

The present study aims to quantify the impact of a multidomain approach to prevent cognitive decline in individuals from the general population at-high risk of dementia. It will be based on five distinct components: 1) cognitive training; 2) physical exercise; 3) nutrition education; 4) capacitation to deal with cognitive decline; 5) assessment and correction of hearing loss.

Postoperative delirium (POD) and postoperative neuropsychological dysfunction are frequently noted in critically ill patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery and treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). Delirium is a serious complication that prolongs hospital stay and contributes to poor outcomes and increased risk of death. The pathomechanisms of delirium are still not very well recognized and there are several theories that seem to explain it. The most important pathomechanisms of delirium are associated with cerebral ischaemia, disorders in acetylcholinergic system, disorders in neuronal plasticity and oxidative stress. Cerebrolysin, a mixture of various peptides obtained from the structural proteins of the pig's brain, possesses strong antioxidative and neuronal protective properties. Cerebrolysin is recommended to treat patients with dementia, after cerebral ischemia and after brain trauma. It has been documented that Cerebrolysin reduces the severity of secondary brain damage after ischemia, improving neuronal plasticity and then cognitive function, and reducing severity of oxidative stress. Based on these properties it can be speculated that Cerebrolysin may reduce the risk of postoperative delirium in patients undergoing elective surgery, which are associated with a high risk of postoperative delirium.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group robot therapy with the PARO therapy robot in terms of quality of life and neuropsychiatric symptoms in people living with dementia in residential centers. In addition, the acceptability of the robot on the part of the users participating in the study will be evaluated. The evaluation will be carried out through a multicenter pragmatic clinical trial randomized to an intervention group (PARO therapy robot) or a control group (treatment as usual). Participants in the intervention group will complete three sessions per week with the PARO therapy robot during 12 weeks. Participants in the control group will maintain their standard care. In addition, a follow-up evaluation will be made three months after the end of the intervention to assess the duration of the possible effects.

BACKGROUND: Simultaneous motor-cognitive training interventions are considered promising to prevent the decline in cognitive functioning in older adults with mild neurocognitive disorder (mNCD) and can be highly motivating when applied in form of exergames. OBJECTIVES: This study systematically explores the effectiveness of a newly developed exergame-based motor-cognitive training concept (called 'Brain-IT') targeted to improve cognitive functioning in older adults with mNCD. METHODS: A two-arm, parallel-group, single-blinded (i.e. outcome evaluator of pre- and post-measurements blinded to group allocation) randomized controlled trial with an allocation ration of 1 : 1 (i.e. intervention : control) including 34 - 40 older adults with mNCD will be conducted between May 2022 and December 2023. The control group will proceed with usual care as provided by the (memory) clinics where the patients are recruited while the intervention group will perform a twelve-week training intervention according to the newly developed 'Brain-IT' exergame-based training concept in addition to usual care. As a primary outcome, global cognitive functioning will be assessed using the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen (Qmci). As secondary outcomes, domain-specific cognitive functioning, brain structure and function, spatiotemporal parameters of gait, instrumental activities of daily living, psychosocial factors (e.g. quality of life, and levels of depression, anxiety, stress), and cardiac vagal modulation (heart rate variability at rest) will be assessed. Both, the pre- and the post-measurements will take place within two weeks prior to starting or after completing the intervention.

Traditionally, general anesthesia is maintained with inhalational anesthesia (GAS), but there is a gap in knowledge regarding whether intravenous anesthesia (IV) can prevent deleterious postoperative outcomes in the geriatric surgical population. The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether intravenous anesthesia (IV) leads to a decreased incidence of postoperative delirium (POD), postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), and functional decline, and improved patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in older adults undergoing non-cardiac surgery when compared to the standard inhalational anesthesia (GAS). This single-center, 1:1 randomized, double-blind (patient & outcome assessor) clinical trial will compare inhalational vs. intravenous anesthesia on POD, POCD, functional status, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and blood-based biomarkers in older patients undergoing elective, inpatient, non-cardiac surgery. Upon enrollment, 260 women and men ≥ 75 years undergoing elective noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia will be randomized to 2 groups: IV or GAS.

Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorders are the most common neurological complications after major surgery, which are associated with higher increased mortality and morbidity in elderly patients undergoing major surgery. Until now highly effective intervention has not been established yet. Recent preclinical studies suggest mithochiondrial dysfunction may be linked to pathogensis of (postoperative delirium) POD and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). As Methylene blue(MB) is a mitochondrial protective agent and a safe drug with long history of clinical use, we propose that mitochondrial-targeted interventions may be useful to prevent POD/POCD in surgical patients.