Dementia Clinical Trials in Boston, MA

The purpose of the Trial-Ready Cohort - Down Syndrome (TRC-DS) is to enroll 120 healthy adults with Down syndrome (DS), between the ages of 25-55, into a trial ready cohort (TRC), and up to 250 participants in total including co-enrolled in the Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium - Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study. Participants enrolled in the TRC-DS will undergo longitudinal cognitive and clinical assessment, genetic and biomarker testing, as well as imaging and biospecimen collection. Using these outcome measures, researchers will analyze the relationships between cognitive measures and biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to identify endpoints for AD clinical trials in DS that best reflect disease progression. To learn more about the study and participating sites, visit our study website at: https://www.trcds.org/. TRC-DS is collaborating with the Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) to allow study participants to be concurrently enrolled in both ABC-DS and TRC-DS, referred to as "co-enrollment". ABC-DS is a longitudinal, observational research study that is overseen at University of Pittsburgh Coordinating Center. ABC-DS participants who express interest in potentially joining a clinical trial in the future and who meet TRC-DS eligibility criteria, may choose to co-enroll in TRC-DS at an ABC-DS Site. Co-enrolled participants will adhere to the ABC-DS protocol and schedule of activities, but agree to share their data with the TRC-DS team and to receive invitations for future participation in clinical trials. Fore more information on ABC-DS please visit https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/abc-ds or http://abcds.pitt.edu/. Read Less

The goal of this pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial is to compare management of suspected infection in nursing home residents with dementia The main questions it aims to answer whether residents with dementia in nursing homes randomized to use a multicomponent intervention to optimize suspected infection management ( versus usual care) use less antibiotics and fewer burdensome interventions. Read Less

This is an interventional, sham controlled, double-blind study designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation, delivered for 6 weeks once daily in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. Cognition, gamma EEG activity and brain metabolism via FDG-PET will be measured before and after the tACS intervention. Read Less

The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between cortical hyperexcitability, abnormalities of brain network function, and cognitive dysfunction in human patients with AD and whether administration of the antiepileptic medication levetiracetam (LEV) normalizes these measures and improves cognition. Read Less

The goal of this prospective cohort study is to assess potential differences in sleep biomarkers in older adult patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: To define sleep/circadian biomarkers of delirium (sleep duration, regularity, stability and timing of rhythm) in a prospective observational study. To determine if plasma Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology/inflammatory burden interacts with or moderates the relationship between a sleep/circadian biomarker and post-operative delirium (POD) risk. To determine whether sleep/circadian regulation interacts with the genetic risk of AD to influence POD/cognitive decline. Participants will be asked to: Donate several blood samples both intraoperatively and postoperatively Complete baseline and postoperative neurocognitive assessments Wear an actigraphy data collection watch for the two weeks prior to their surgery Read Less

The overall objective of this study is to compare knowledge, decisional conflict, preferences, and caregiver burden over time caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) patients by comparing the effectiveness of a video decision aid intervention and enhanced usual care. Read Less

Synucleinopathies are a group of rare diseases associated with worsening neurological deficits and the abnormal accumulation of the protein α-synuclein in the nervous system. Onset is usually in late adulthood at age 50 or older. Usually, synucleinopathies present clinically with slowness of movement, coordination difficulties or mild cognitive impairment. Development of these features indicates that abnormal alpha-synuclein deposits have destroyed key areas of the brain involved in the control of movement or cognition. Patients with synucleinopathies and signs of CNS-deficits are frequently diagnosed with Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) or multiple system atrophy (MSA). However, accumulation of alpha-synuclein and death of nerve cells can also begin outside the brain in the autonomic nerves. In such cases, syncucleinopathies present first with symptoms of autonomic impairment (unexplained constipation, urinary difficulties, and sexual dysfunction). In rare cases, hypotension on standing (a disorder known as orthostatic hypotension) may be the only clinical finding. This "pre-motor" autonomic stage suggests that the disease process may not yet have spread to the brain. After a variable period of time, but usually within 5-years, most patients with abnormally low blood pressure on standing develop cognitive or motor abnormalities. This stepwise evolution indicates that the disease spreads from the body to the brain. Another indication of this spread is that acting out dreams (i.e., REM sleep behavior disorder, RBD) a problem that occurs when the lower part of the brain is affected, may also be the first noticeable sign of Parkinson disease. The purpose of this study is to document the clinical features and biological markers of patients with synucleinopathies and better understand how these disorders evolve over time. The study will involve following patients diagnosed with a synucleinopathy (PD/DLB and MSA) and those believed to be in the "pre-motor" stage (with isolated autonomic impairment and/or RBD). Through a careful series of follow-up visits to participating Centers, we will focus on finding biological clues that predict which patients will develop motor/cognitive problems and which ones have the resilience to keep the disease at bay preventing spread to the brain. We will also define the natural history of MSA - the most aggressive of the synucleinopathies. Read Less

The primary objective of this study is to enroll an observational cohort of approximately 60 patients with PSP over the course of 24 months using a multicenter study design and to follow each of them for 12 months. The secondary objective of this study is to develop a robust solution for multi-modal remote monitoring of motor symptoms and function in PSP that can be applied to other Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) syndromes. Read Less

This project aims to explore the feasibility and effects of a symptom-specific, brain-circuit-based, home-based neuromodulation therapy for addressing mood and memory symptoms in older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) in the context of dementia. Read Less

This home-based study is a randomized (1:1) placebo-controlled trial of a single infusion of zoledronic acid-5 mg (ZA) for the prevention of fractures in men and women aged 60 years and older with Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism with at least 2 years of follow-up. A total of 3500 participants will be enrolled and randomized in the United States. Participants, follow-up outcome assessors, and study investigators will be blinded to assigned study treatment. This trial is funded by the National Institute of Aging. Read Less

The primary objectives are to: To determine whether MIB-626, after its daily oral administration, penetrates the blood-brain barrier in humans by measuring the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of MIB-626 and its key metabolites, nicotinamide (NAM), NR, 2-PY, and MeNAM at baseline and on day 90 at steady state. To evaluate whether oral MIB-626 administration engages the sirtuin-NAD pathway by determining the abundance of NAD (a SIRT1 substrate) in the brain using ultra-high field 7T magnetic resonance spectroscopy and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells using a validated LC-MS/MS assay. To determine whether MIB-626 alters the circulating biomarkers of aging that the geroscience experts have recommended (HbA1C, IGF1, T3, IL6, TNF, and urinary F2-isoprostane). Read Less

This project aims to examine the efficacy of remote, caregiver-led tES/brain stimulation intervention targeted to improve memory, mobility, and executive functioning among older adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia. Read Less