Dementia Paid Clinical Trials in Massachusetts

In this study, the investigators will use a novel electroencephalogram (EEG) system that participants will wear during a single in-person research session to investigate whether ERPs are now ready for validation as a tool clinicians can easily implement to increase diagnostic accuracy and confidence. This EEG will not be used to treat, cure, mitigate or diagnosis any disease and there will be no safety or efficacy data collected about the machine for any purpose including support of FDA submission. The investigators will compare the ERP data to that of neuropsychological testing in order to determine the degree of correlation between these two measures. Questionnaires on cognition, mood, and fluency will be administered prior to the EEG to establish a baseline. ERP data from the EEG session will be compared with the results of the neuropsychological battery in order to determine whether the implementation of ERPs in the existing workflow of clinicians can aid in diagnostic accuracy, thus altering clinical management. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine whether neflamapimod can improve learning skills, problem solving skills, and memory loss in people diagnosed with DLB. More specifically, improvement in verbal learning, memory, and attention, as well as cognitive and functional performance will be measured. Read Less

Building on limitations of prior research, the investigators developed the Mindful and Self-Compassionate Care Program (MASC) to help caregivers of persons with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) manage stress associated with the general caregiver experience including stress stemming from managing challenging patient behaviors. MASC teaches: (1) mindfulness skills; (2) compassion and self-compassion skills; and (3) behavioral management skills. MASC also provides psychoeducation and group-based training and skill practice to facilitate skill uptake and integration within the caregiver experience and tasks. The main aim is to: Demonstrate feasibility, acceptability, credibility, fidelity, preliminary efficacy and evidence for proposed mechanism of MASC through a pilot randomized controlled trial. Relevant stakeholders (caregivers of persons with ADRD) will participate in the intervention. Read Less

ARTFL LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (ALLFTD) represents the formalized integration of ARTFL (U54 NS092089; funded through 2019) and LEFFTDS (U01 AG045390; funded through 2019) as a single North American research consortium to study FTLD for 2019 and beyond. Read Less

The investigators will compare two brain health programs in older adults with subjective cognitive decline and lifestyle risk factors for dementia. The primary aim of the study is to determine the credibility, expectancy, feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, fidelity, and satisfaction of the programs. Read Less

The overall goal of the proposed research is to evaluate the use of [11C]SY08 as a PET radiotracer for aggregated alpha synuclein (αS) in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD), Multiple system atrophy (MSA), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and healthy controls. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of [11C]SY08 as a PET radiotracer for αS fibrils in individuals with PD, MSA, DLB and healthy controls. The specific aims of the current study are: To determine brain uptake, distribution, and kinetics of [11C]SY08 in healthy individuals. To determine brain uptake, distribution, and kinetics of [11C]SY08 in patients with alpha synuclein aggregates in the brain, including PD, DLB and MSA. To determine human dosimetry of [11C]SY08 in healthy individuals An intravenous bolus injection of [11C]SY08 will be administered per subject for brain PET imaging. Read Less

It is generally acknowledged that patients with dementia are best cared for at home. However, outbursts of various behavioral disturbances, e.g., combativeness, appear in most cases and often necessitate institutionalization. These outbursts are often without apparent warning, which limits preventive interventions. The measurement of the electrical activity of the skin is well-studied as an indicator of stress or agitation. The investigators propose to monitor the electrical activity of skin in patients with dementia in order to determine whether any sign of agitation may occur before the outburst. If skin electrical activity gives sufficient warning, then preventive interventions may be tried. If successful, the ability to predict and prevent outbursts of behavioral disturbances will allow patients to be cared for at home for longer periods. It is the primary aim of this project to determine whether skin electrical activity gives such a warning; possible preventive measures will be the subject of future studies. Read Less

The Syn-D Study will be evaluating α-synuclein in patients with suspected MCI-AD and MCI-DLB. Using a simple diagnostic test will improve clinical accuracy in diagnosing, earlier diagnosis, and distinguish between neurodegenerative diseases. Read Less

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