Mild Cognitive Impairment Clinical Trials

This is a pilot study of non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to improve memory in healthy adults. It will also examine treating memory deficits in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a condition that frequently precedes Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study will test whether a form of non-invasive brain stimulation repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve memory abilities in healthy young adults, healthy older adults, and older adults with aMCI by retuning memory-related brain networks. This study is a key first step which will support the long-term goal of treating memory deficits in neurological patients. It is expected that rTMS will improve memory abilities in all participants, and that the improvements in memory will be attributable to changes in the connectivity of memory-related brain networks. Read Less

Obesity and related metabolic comorbidities have been associated with more than a 4-fold increased risk of incident cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Dysfunctional metabolic flexibility is increasingly recognized as a critical mechanism linking metabolic risk factors to risk of cognitive impairment, although few studies portable behavioral strategies to enhance metabolic function among individuals at risk for ADRD. The present study will examine the feasibility and acceptability of a 12-week time restricted feeding intervention among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Changes in cognitive and metabolic function will also be examined. Read Less

This study will evaluate the effects of a form of non-invasive brain stimulation on brain functioning and memory in participants with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Read Less

This is a double-blind, randomized controlled trial designed to test the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on validated biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression, and behavioral, neurocognitive, and clinical measures, with putative mechanisms of action. Read Less

This is a research study that aims to examine whether Veterans with mild Traumatic Brain Injuries are at risk for dementia by studying their memory, brain wave activity, brain structure and proteins that can be elevated after brain injury and in dementia. Read Less

This study will evaluate the efficacy of working memory training in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Read Less

The investigators will conduct a tau PET scan in cognitively normal older adults and patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), enrolled in the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) study at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Memory Center/Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (PMC/ADC). Read Less

The goal of this study is to investigate whether Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Pulsation (LIFUP) targeting a part of the brain involved in memory will have an affect on brain activity and whether it may improve memory in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Alzheimer's Disease. The main questions the study seeks to answer are: 1. Can LIFUP increase brain activity in the targeted area? 2. Can LIFUP improve memory in people with MCI and mild AD? 3. Can LIFUP improve connectivity of memory networks in the brain? Participants in this study will complete MRIs and memory testing, and receive Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound to a part of their brain involved in memory (the entorhinal cortex). Read Less

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. Read Less

This open-label pilot study examines whether the hallucinogenic drug, psilocybin, given under supportive conditions, is safe and effective for depression in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or early Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This study will also assess whether psilocybin may improve quality of life in those individuals. Read Less

Participants will randomly be placed into one of four groups and experience one of the four following conditions: (1) a placebo light that provides a 40 hertz (Hz) flicker (rhythmic light \[RL\]); (2) a placebo light with a random flicker (placebo condition for rhythmic light); (3) a light source that will stimulate the circadian system and provides a 40 Hz flicker (RL); or (4) a light source that will stimulate the circadian system and provides a random flicker (placebo condition for rhythmic light). Following a baseline week, participants will experience his/her assigned lighting condition for two hours in the morning for 8 weeks. After a 4-week washout period, a final round of assessments will be obtained. Study assessments (except for the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Montreal Cognitive Assessment) will be collected at the end of each week, for a total of 8 assessments. Read Less

Recent findings suggest that sleep disruption may contribute to the generation and maintenance of neuropsychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, agitation, irritation, and apathy while treating sleep disruption reduces these symptoms. Impairments in the neural systems that support emotion regulation may represent one causal mechanism mediating the relationship between sleep and emotional distress. However, this model has not yet been formally tested within a sample of individuals with or at risk for developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD) This proposal aims to test a mechanistic model in which sleep disturbance contributes to neuropsychiatric symptoms through impairments in fronto-limbic emotion regulation function in a sample of individuals at risk for developing, or at an early stage of AD. This study seeks to delineate the causal association between sleep disruption, fronto-limbic emotion regulation brain function, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. These aims will be achieved through a mechanistic, randomized 2-arm controlled trial design. 150 adults experiencing sleep disturbances and who also have cognitive impairment with the presence of at least mild neuropsychiatric symptoms will be randomized to receive either a sleep manipulation (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia CBT-I; n=75) or an active control (n=75). CBT-I improves sleep patterns through a combination of sleep restriction, stimulus control, mindfulness training, cognitive therapy targeting dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, and sleep hygiene education. Neuropsychiatric symptoms, fronto-limbic functioning, and sleep disruption will be assessed at baseline and at the end of the sleep manipulation through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), clinical interviews, PSG recordings, and self-report questionnaires. Neuropsychiatric symptoms (anxiety and depression) and sleep disturbance (actigraphy, Insomnia Severity Index, and sleep diaries) will be assayed at baseline and each week throughout the sleep manipulation to assess week-to-week changes following an increasing number of CBT-I sessions. Wristwatch actigraphy will be acquired from baseline to the end of the sleep manipulation at week 11. Neuropsychiatric symptoms and sleep will be assessed again at six months post-manipulation. Read Less