Dementia Paid Clinical Trials in New York

A multi-site, single-blinded, parallel, randomized-controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel model of in-home palliative care for dementia patients and their family caregivers. From inpatient and outpatient settings associated with four hospitals across New York City, patients with advanced dementia and their family caregivers will be randomized to intervention or augmented control. 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

This study will conduct a two-arm randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a culturally tailored version of the NYU Caregiver Intervention (NYUCI) plus enhanced support (ES) through online chat groups (the NYUCI plus WeChat/Kakaotalk \[population social media app for Chinese/Korean\] peer support which we call the NYUCI-ES in reducing health risks for cardiometabolic disease among older Chinese and Korean American adults caring for relatives with ADRD. In collaboration with community organizations across the New York and northern New Jersey metropolitan area, we will enroll 300 caregivers of people with ADRD (150 Chinese and 150 Korean) in this study. Aim 1: Develop culturally adapted informational and educational materials about dementia and caregiving issues for social service providers of the intervention and for family caregivers. Aim 2: Test the hypothesis, H1: A counseling and support intervention (the NYUCI-ES) will significantly improve psychosocial factors such as depression, stress self-rated health and chronic disease management among Chinese and Korean-American ADRD caregivers and these changes will be mediated by improvement in social support. H1a: By the first (6- month) follow-up, the mediators (increases in social support, stress reaction) will improve significantly in the intervention group compared to baseline values and the control group. H1b: These improvements will be maintained, and lead to reduction in depressive symptoms, and improvement in self-reported health and chronic disease self-management by the 12-month follow-up compared to the control group. Aim 3: Test the hypothesis, H2: the NYUCI-ES will reduce biologic risk factors, including metabolic health (glycosylated hemoglobin) and inflammation (Oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, etc.) within 6 months of enrollment compared to baseline and a control group; these changes will be mediated through increases in social support and decreases in depressive symptoms and will be maintained at the 12-month follow-up. The public health significance of these findings will likely have an impact on health care policy for CGs from diverse underserved ethnic and cultural backgrounds, potentially reducing morbidity, and improving their quality of life. Read Less

PREVENTABLE is a multi-center, randomized, parallel group, placebo-controlled superiority study. Participants will be randomized 1:1 to atorvastatin 40 mg or placebo. This large study conducted in community-dwelling older adults without cardiovascular disease (CVD) or dementia will demonstrate the benefit of statins for reducing the primary composite of death, dementia, and persistent disability and secondary composites including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cardiovascular events. Read Less

This study will explore the effect of ECT treatments plus usual care (ECT+UC) in reducing severe agitation in patients with moderate to severe dementia including Alzheimer's Disease, Vascular dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. The study will also determine the tolerability/safety outcomes of ECT+UC. Read Less

This study is designed to evaluate the impact on the quality of life and wellbeing of a person-centered online dance program on people living with dementia or MCI and care partners. The duration of the study will be 1 year. Each participant in the study will be followed for approximately 4 months. The study includes joining a weekly 1-hour dance program online on Zoom for 12 weeks. Prior and after the dance program, participants will meet with the research coordinator to answer some questionnaires about wellbeing and reflections on their experience in the program. After the completion of the dance program, participants will be invited to join a focus group to reflect of the impact of the program with fellow participants. The study will enroll up to 72 participants. This includes 36 dyads of persons living with dementia or MCI and their care partners. The study will enroll community-dwelling people living with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or mild to moderate-stage dementia and care partners living in the United States. Read Less

The purpose of this pilot is to develop a mobile application that detects physiological measures of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and triggers auto-play of personalized songs in a wearable device. The investigators will test the feasibility and acceptability of the app. This app may be an important tool to include in daily caregiving in a home setting by extending established benefits of music therapy for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Read Less