Dementia clinical trials at University of California Health

45 in progress, 20 open to eligible people

Showing trials for

  • Deep Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) of the Precuneus for Alzheimer Disease (AD)

    open to eligible people ages 60-100

    The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if using deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the precuneus is feasible, tolerable, and potentially efficacious for memory in Probable Alzheimer's Dementia. Previous work studying rTMS in Alzheimer's is mixed, but recent work studying rTMS of the precuneus is encouraging for both its short-term and long-term effects. The main questions this study aims to answer are: - Is deep rTMS of the precuneus feasible and tolerable in Alzheimer's? - Are there signs of positive brain changes in response to deep rTMS? - Is deep rTMS potentially efficacious for memory in Alzheimer's? Researchers will compare active stimulation to placebo stimulation while obtaining memory testing and measurements of the brain (imaging, scalp electrode measurements, bloodwork) to see if active treatment works to treat mild-to-moderate probable Alzheimer's Dementia. Participants will: - Engage with memory testing, brain scans, and bloodwork during a comprehensive assessment - Visit the clinic 3 times for 12 consolidated rTMS sessions, followed by 4 once weekly maintenance sessions - Be offered a full open-label active treatment course after completing their treatment course if they are initially in the placebo group

    at UCLA

  • Dementia and Diabetes Prevention Program

    open to eligible people ages 60 years and up

    This is a multicenter, randomized 2-arm clinical trial of two lifestyle interventions varying in intensity and format, in 400 older African American and non-Hispanic whites at increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The trial will include two lifestyle interventions that differ in intensity and format: 1. Aerobic Exercise (AEx) Intervention that involves aerobic activities with in-class walking workouts and tutorials and carried out at the East Oakland Sports Center (EOSC) and Tice Creek Fitness Center (TICE). 2. Dietary counseling to support adherence to the Mediterranean-Diet Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet to encourage increased consumption of berries, green leafy and other vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, poultry, beans and olive oil, and to reduce consumption of fried/fast foods, red meat, whole fat cheese, sweets, butter and trans-fat margarines.

    at UC Davis

  • Dementia Family Caregiver Study

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The proposed study will test a 3-month, community health worker (CHW) delivered home visit, culturally and language-appropriate intervention for ethnic and underserved dementia family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) using wearable technology for real time monitoring of caregivers' stress and sleep. The CHW delivered home visit intervention includes stress reduction techniques by mindful deep breathing and compassionate support/listening and caregiving education to improve caregiver's health, wellbeing, and positive interactions with the PWD. This dementia caregiver study using wearable technology has the potential to significantly lessen health disparities in dementia care, assisting underserved ethnic dementia caregivers in self-management and increasing their quality of life.

    at UC Irvine

  • Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trial: An Opportunity to Prevent Dementia. A Study of Potential Disease Modifying Treatments in Individuals at Risk for or With a Type of Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease Caused by a Genetic Mutation. Master Protocol DIAN-TU-001

    open to eligible people ages 18-80

    The purpose of this study is to assess the safety, tolerability, biomarker, cognitive and clinical efficacy of investigational products in participants with an Alzheimer's disease-causing mutation by determining if treatment with the study drug slows the rate of progression of cognitive/clinical impairment or improves disease-related biomarkers.

    at UCSD

  • First-in-Human Evaluation of an Astrocytic Glutamate Transporter (EAAT2) PET Tracer in Dementia

    open to eligible people ages 40-75

    This is a first in human study that will assess the safety and diagnostic performance of [18F]RP-115 (fluorine-18 labeled RP115), a positron emission tomography (PET) agent. This agent has the potential to identify the early changes that occur in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

    at UCSF

  • Masupirdine for the Treatment of Agitation in Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type

    open to eligible people ages 50-90

    This study will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of masupirdine compared to placebo for the treatment of agitation in participants with dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

    at UCLA

  • TabCAT Brain Health Assessment in Primary Care

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    Efficient and user-friendly paradigms to detect cognitive impairment, including dementia are needed in primary care. The TabCAT Brain Health Assessment accurately detects cognitive impairment via an appealing tablet interface with automated scoring and EMR integration. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the paradigm on detection rates and other brain health outcomes via a pragmatic cluster randomized trial in 26 Kaiser Southern California primary care clinics.

    at UCSF

  • Active Mind Trial: An Adaptive Randomized Trial to Improve Function and Delay Dementia

    open to eligible people ages 55-89

    Older adults at risk for dementia show a variety of cognitive deficits, which can be ameliorated by different cognitive training (CT) exercises. The best combination of CT exercises is unknown. The aim is to discover the most efficacious combination of CT exercises as compared to cognitive stimulation (which will serve as a stringent, active control) to modify the functional trajectories of older adults' with MCI, who are at high risk for dementia. The primary objective of the U01 phase was to design and pilot-test an adaptive, randomized clinical trial (RCT) of cognitive training (CT) combinations aimed to enhance performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In the R01 phase, the objective is to identify the best combination of CT exercises to delay dementia onset among persons with MCI. The longitudinal endpoint goal is reducing incident dementia. The primary aim of the study is to determine which CT combination has the best probability to delay dementia by producing the largest IADL improvements. The study further aims to explore neuroimaging and novel blood-based biomarkers.

    at UCSF

  • Parkinson's and Zoledronic Acid

    open to eligible people ages 60 years and up

    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.

    at UC Davis UC Irvine UCLA UCSF

  • Veri-T: A Trial of Verdiperstat in Patients With svPPA Due to TDP-43 Pathology

    open to eligible people ages 18-85

    The purpose of the study is to test the safety and tolerability of twice daily Verdiperstat in patients with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) due to frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 pathology (FTLD-TDP). Three-fourths of the participants will receive Verdiperstat and one-fourth will receive Placebo during the 24-week treatment duration.

    at UCSF

  • Diagnostic Test for Dementia With Lewy Bodies

    open to eligible people ages 50-85

    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.

    at UCSD

  • Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 4

    open to eligible people ages 55-90

    Since its launch in 2004, the overarching aim of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Study has been to validate biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials. ADNI4 continues the previously funded ADNI1, ADNI-GO, ADNI2, and ADNI3 studies that have combined public/private collaborations between academia and industry to determine the relationships between the clinical, cognitive, imaging, genetic and biochemical biomarker characteristics of the entire spectrum of AD.

    at UC Davis UC Irvine UCLA UCSD UCSF

  • ARTFL LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (ALLFTD)

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    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.

    at UCLA UCSD UCSF

  • Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Consortium

    open to eligible people ages 60-90

    Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID) is an NIH-funded consortium dedicated to finding biomarkers involved in age-related thinking and memory problems. Alzheimer's disease and other dementias leave signatures on brain scans or in the blood called biomarkers. The MarkVCID study will measure a panel of candidate biomarkers in 1800 participants and watch them closely to see what they tell us about changes in brain function and risk of memory loss. Age-related problems in thinking and memory represent some of the greatest risks to public health in the US and globally. Diseases that affect small blood vessels in the brain have been shown to be major contributors to these changes. However, research and patient care can be held back by limited biomarkers that identify who should be treated. The MarkVCID Consortium includes 17 US medical centers, a Coordinating Center, an External Advisory Committee, and NIH leadership. Data and biospecimens collected as part of this research study will be stored in a research database and biorepositories, so that researchers can use this information to study brain function.

    at UC Davis UCLA UCSF

  • Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy With Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) Study

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    This is an observational study to better understand the risk factors and progression of CADASIL, a leading cause of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). 500 participants will be enrolled and can expect to be on study for up to 5 years.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Characterization of Inclusion Body Myopathy Associated With Paget's Disease of Bone and Frontotemporal Dementia (IBMPFD)

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The investigators are researching families with inherited inclusion body myopathy (IBM) and/or Paget disease of bone (PDB) and/or dementia (FTD) which is also called IBMPFD. IBMPFD is caused by mutations in the VCP gene. Our main goal is to understand how changes in the VCP gene cause the muscle, bone and cognitive problems associated with the disease. The investigators are collecting biological specimen such as blood and urine samples, family and medical histories, questionnaire data of patients with a personal or family history of VCP associated disease. Participants do not need to have all symptoms listed above in order to qualify. A select group of participants may be invited to travel to University of California, Irvine for a two day program of local procedures such as an MRI and bone scan. Samples are coded to maintain confidentiality. Travel is not necessary except for families invited for additional testing.

    at UC Irvine

  • Clinical Procedures to Support Research in ALS

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The purpose of the Clinical Procedures To Support Research (CAPTURE) study is to utilize information collected in the medical record to learn more about a disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related disorders.

    at UC Irvine

  • Determinants of Incident Stroke Cognitive Outcomes and Vascular Effects on RecoverY

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The overall goal of the DISCOVERY study is to better understand what factors contribute to changes in cognitive (i.e., thinking and memory) abilities in patients who experienced a stroke. The purpose of the study is to help doctors identify patients at risk for dementia (decline in memory, thinking and other mental abilities that significantly affects daily functioning) after their stroke so that future treatments may be developed to improve outcomes in stroke patients. For this study, a "stroke" is defined as either (1) an acute ischemic stroke (AIS, or blood clot in the brain), (2) an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH, or bleeding in the brain), (3) or an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH, or bleeding around the brain caused by an abnormal bulge in a blood vessel that bursts). The investigators hypothesize that: 1. The size, type and location of the stroke play an important role in recovery of thinking and memory abilities after stroke, and pre-existing indicators of brain health further determine the extent of this recovery. 2. Specific stroke events occurring in individuals with underlying genetic or biological risk factors can cause further declines in brain heath, leading to changes in thinking and memory abilities after stroke. 3. Studying thinking and memory alongside brain imaging and blood samples in patients who have had a stroke allows for earlier identification of declining brain health and development of individualized treatment plans to improve patient outcomes in the future.

    at UCLA UCSD

  • North American Prodromal Synucleinopathy Consortium Stage 2

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    This study will enroll participants with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and healthy controls for the purpose of preparing for a clinical trial of neuroprotective treatments against synucleinopathies.

    at UCLA

  • Trial-Ready Cohort-Down Syndrome (TRC-DS)

    open to eligible people ages 25-55

    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 450 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/.

    at UC Irvine

  • Long-term AL001 Dosing in Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Patients (INFRONT-2)

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    A Phase 2 open label study evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of AL001 in participants with a Granulin mutation or C9orf72 mutation causative of frontotemporal dementia.

    at UCSF

  • TPN-101 in Patients With C9ORF72 ALS/FTD

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    This is a Phase 2a study to assess the the safety and tolerability of TPN-101 in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and/or Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Associated with Hexanucleotide Repeat Expansion in the C9orf72 gene (C9ORF72 ALS/FTD).

    at UC Irvine UCSD UCSF

  • AL001 in Frontotemporal Dementia (INFRONT-3)

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    A phase 3 double blind, placebo controlled study evaluating the efficacy and safety of AL001 in participants at risk for or with frontotemporal dementia due to heterozygous mutations in the progranulin gene.

    at UCSD

  • Potential Disease Modifying Treatment in Individuals at Risk for or With a Type of Early Onset AD Caused by a Genetic Mutation

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    The purpose of this research study is to test the study drug, referred to as remternetug, to determine its effectiveness for the study treatment of asymptomatic (at risk) Alzheimer disease in individuals with AD-causing mutations. This study will also investigate the effects of remternetug on biomarkers (measures of the disease including brain scans, blood and spinal fluid tests), examine safety data to identify any potential benefits or risks, and examine how well participants can tolerate remternetug. Stage 1 will determine if treatment with the study drug prevents or reverses amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation compared with placebo in participants with dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease (DIAD). Stage 2 will evaluate the effect of early anti-amyloid treatment on downstream biomarkers of AD in treated participants compared to external control groups.

    at UCSD

  • JNJ-63733657 in Participants With Early Alzheimer's Disease

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of JNJ-63733657 versus placebo on clinical decline as measured by the Integrated Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (iADRS), a composite of cognition and function.

    at UCLA UCSD

  • Potential Disease Modifying Treatments in Individuals at Risk for or With a Type of Early Onset AD Caused by a Genetic Mutation

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    The purpose is to evaluate the biomarker effect, safety, and tolerability of investigational study drugs in participants who are known to have an Alzheimer's disease (AD)-causing mutation. Stage 1 will determine if treatment with the study drug prevents or slows the rate of amyloid beta (Aβ) pathological disease accumulation demonstrated by Aβ positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Stage 2 will evaluate the effect of early Aβ plaque reduction/prevention on disease progression by assessing downstream non-Aβ biomarkers of AD (e.g., CSF total tau, p-tau, NfL) compared to an external control group from the DIAN-OBS natural history study and the DIAN-TU-001 placebo-treated participants.

    at UCSD

  • Learn About the Safety of BIIB080 Injections and Whether They Can Improve Symptoms of Participants With Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) or Mild AD Dementia Between 50 to 80 Years of Age

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    In this study, researchers will learn more about a study drug called BIIB080. The study will focus on participants with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to AD. The main question researchers are trying to answer is if BIIB080 can slow the worsening of AD more than placebo. It will focus on what dose of BIIB080 slows worsening of AD the most. To help answer this question, researchers will use the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes, also known as the CDR-SB. - Clinicians use the CDR-SB to measure several categories of dementia symptoms. - The results for each category are added together for a total score. Lower scores are better. Researchers will also learn more about the safety of BIIB080. The study will be split into 2 parts. The 1st part is the Placebo-Controlled Period. The 2nd part is the Long-Term Extension (LTE) Period. The 2nd part of the study will help researchers learn about the long-term safety of BIIB080, and how it affects the participant's daily life, thinking, and memory abilities in the longer term. A description of how the study will be done is given below. - After screening, participants will first receive either a low dose or high dose of BIIB080, or a placebo, as an injection into the fluid around the spinal cord (cerebrospinal fluid). A placebo looks like the study drug but contains no real medicine. - Participants will receive BIIB080 or placebo once every 12 weeks or 24 weeks. - After 76 weeks of treatment in the Placebo-Controlled Period, eligible participants will move onto the Extension Treatment period, which will last 96 weeks. - In the extension period, participants who received placebo will be switched to high dose BIIB080 every 12 or 24 weeks. - Participants may be in the study for up to 201 weeks, or about 4 years. This includes the screening and follow-up periods. - Participants can continue to take certain medications for AD. Participants must be on the same dose of medication for at least 8 weeks before the screening period. - After the screening period, most participants will visit the clinic every 6 weeks.

    at UCLA UCSD UCSF

  • Caregivers Preparing for Their Own Health Care Emergency

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The proposed research will develop and test an online Emergency Preparedness Toolkit to help caregivers prepare for their own unexpected health events. Caregivers of persons with dementia often ignore their own health needs as their primary focus is the care of the person with dementia. This can lead to a caregiver delaying their own care and subsequently emergent health events. The Emergency Preparedness Toolkit provides guidance to the caregiver as to how to identify and transfer care to a standby caregiver. The goal is to provide a caregiver with the security and comfort that the person with dementia will be well cared for while they care for their own health needs.

    at UC Davis

  • Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trial: An Opportunity to Prevent Dementia. A Study of Potential Disease Modifying Treatments in Individuals With a Type of Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease Caused by a Genetic Mutation (DIAN-TU)

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    To assess the safety, tolerability, biomarker, cognitive, and clinical efficacy of investigational products in participants with an Alzheimer's disease-causing mutation by determining if treatment with the study drug improves disease-related biomarkers and slows the rate of progression of cognitive or clinical impairment.

    at UCSD

  • Escitalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of escitalopram for agitation in Alzheimer's dementia.

    at UCLA

  • Intranasal Oxytocin for Frontotemporal Dementia

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this study is to assess the safety, tolerability and effects on behaviour of Syntocinon given intranasally (by a spray into the nostrils) compared to placebo (an inactive saline substance that contains no medication) in participants with frontotemporal dementia/Pick's disease. This study will take place in approximately 15 centres across Canada and the United States. Approximately 112 patients in total will be enrolled in this study. In the first phase we will examine which of three different dosing schedules of oxytocin may be more effective. In the second phase of the study, patients entering the study will be randomized to the oxytocin dosing schedule that appeared most effective in the first phase.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Metformin in Alzheimer's Dementia Prevention

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    MAP will be a multisite phase II/III 1:1 randomized controlled trial (RCT) of long acting metformin (reduced mass Glucophage XR) vs. matching placebo in 326 men and women with early and late aMCI, without diabetes, not treated with metformin, overweight or obese, aged 55 years to 90 years. The RCT will last 18 months and have 4 visits: baseline, 6-months, 12-months, and 18-months. The RCT will be preceded by a screening phase followed by randomization and a titration period in which drug/placebo will be titrated from 500 mg a day (one tablet) to 2,000 mg a day (4 tablets), in increments of 500 mg (one tablet) every 10 days. Participants will remain in the RCT on the tolerated dose, and included in analyses on an intent to treat basis. We expect the attrition rate to be 10%/year. Neuropsychological battery, clinical interviews, physical exam, and phlebotomy will be conducted at baseline and every 6 months. Brain MRI will be conducted in approximately half of the participants (186) twice, at baseline, and after the last study visit at month 18. We will also conduct brain amyloid Positron Emission Tomography (PET) using 18F-Florbetaben, and tau PET using 18F-MK6240 in half of the participants at baseline and end of the RCT. The primary clinical outcome of the study will be changes in the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. The secondary endpoints are 1) changes in global cognitive performance, measured with the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (ADCS-PACC); 2) changes in neurodegeneration, ascertained as cortical thickness in areas affected by AD on brain MRI; 3) changes in cerebrovascular disease, ascertained as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) volume on brain MRI; 4) Changes in whole brain amyloid ß (Aß) SUVR and in incident amyloid positivity; 5) Changes in tau SUVR in a composite brain region comprising medial and inferolateral temporal cortex; 6) Changes in plasma AD biomarkers. The data coordinating center and Imaging Core is located at John Hopkins University. The PET coordinating center is located at UC-Berkeley. The Clinical Coordinating and Monitoring Center and the central laboratory will be located at Columbia. The Research pharmacy function will be shared by the University of Rochester, which will dispense randomization kits, and the University of Iowa, which will receive bulk metformin and identical matching placebo from EMD Serono.

    at UC Irvine

  • Intravenous Trappsol(R) Cyclo(TM) in Pediatric and Adult Patients With Niemann-Pick Disease Type C1

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, multi-center therapeutic study for patients age 3 and older with confirmed diagnosis of Niemann Pick disease type C1 (NPC1). The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of 2000 mg/kg dose of Trappsol Cyclo (hydroxypropyl betacyclodextrin) administered intravenously compared to standard of care. An open-label sub-study in countries following European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidance will enroll asymptomatic or symptomatic patients from infancy up to age 3 to evaluate safety in that population.

    at UCSF

  • RewinD-LB - Clinical Study of Neflamapimod in Patients With Dementia With Lewy Bodies

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    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.

    at UCSD

  • Speech-Language Treatment with Remotely Supervised Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Primary Progressive Aphasia

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a disorder characterized by gradual decline in speech-language ability caused by underlying neurodegenerative disease. PPA is a devastating condition that can affect adults as young as their 50's, depriving them of the ability to communicate and function in society. Along with Alzheimer's Disease and other Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD), PPA is now identified earlier and with greater precision. Increasingly, patients and families seek options for behavioral and neuromodulatory treatments to address PPA's devastating effects on communication, prolong speech-language skills, and maximize quality of life. Studies have documented the robust benefits of speech-language telerehabilitation methods for persons with PPA, with in-home treatment resulting in immediate and long-term benefits. This investigation aims to further enhance the potency of these treatment approaches by pairing them with tailored neuromodulatory intervention that targets critical brain networks supporting treatment in each clinical subtype of PPA. The study will evaluate the feasibility and preliminary benefit of home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with evidence-based speech-language telerehabilitation methods. tDCS will be delivered to patients in their own homes and site of stimulation will be tailored for each clinical subtype of PPA. This project has the potential to enhance clinical management and rehabilitation for individuals with PPA by establishing the benefit of behavioral and neuromodulatory treatment that is neurobiologically-motivated and accessible for patients and families.

    at UCSF

  • Brain Health Study: A Pragmatic, Patient-Centered Trial

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The eRADAR Brain Health Study seeks to refine and test a novel, low-cost strategy for increasing dementia detection within primary care.

    at UCSF

  • Care Ecosystem Consortium Effectiveness Study

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The Care Ecosystem is an accessible, remotely delivered team-based dementia care model, designed to add value for patients, providers and payers in complex organizational and reimbursement structures. Care is delivered via the phone and web by unlicensed Care Team Navigators, who are trained and supervised by a team of dementia specialists with nursing, social work, and pharmacy expertise. The evidence base to date suggests that the Care Ecosystem improves outcomes important to people with dementia, caregivers, and payers when delivered in a controlled research environment, including reduced emergency department visits, higher quality of life for patients, lower caregiver depression, and reduced potentially inappropriate medication use (Possin et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2022). The investigators propose a rapid pragmatic trial in 6 health systems currently offering the Care Ecosystem program in geographically and culturally diverse populations. The investigators will leverage technology, delivering care via the phone and web and using electronic health records to monitor quality improvements and evaluate outcomes while maximizing external validity. The investigators will evaluate the effectiveness of the Care Ecosystem on outcomes important to patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and health systems during the pandemic. By evaluating the real-world effectiveness in diverse health systems that are already providing this model of care, this project will bridge the science-practice gap in dementia care during an unprecedented time of heightened strain on family caregivers, healthcare providers and health systems.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Treatment for Speech and Language in Primary Progressive Aphasia

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a progressive neurological disorder that causes a gradual decline in communication ability as a result of selective neurodegeneration of speech and language networks in the brain. PPA is a devastating condition affecting adults as young as their 40's or 50's, depriving them of the ability to communicate and function in society. There has been significant progress in discovering the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie PPA and in identifying its clinical phenotypes. With these advances, we are poised to investigate behavioral treatments that are grounded in modern cognitive and neuroanatomical concepts. Research documenting the efficacy of speech-language treatment for PPA is emerging, but limited. Systematic research is needed to establish best clinical practices in this unique patient population for whom pharmacological treatment remains elusive. The long-term objectives of this project are to provide evidence-based treatment methods addressing the speech and language deficits in PPA and to determine the neural predictors of responsiveness to intervention. The study has three main goals that build on the findings of our previous work: 1) to examine the utility of treatments designed to facilitate significant, generalized and lasting improvement of speech-language function in PPA, 2) to determine whether treatment alters the trajectory of decline in PPA by comparing performance on primary outcome measures in treated versus untreated participants after a one-year interval, and 3) to identify imaging predictors (gray matter, white matter, and functional connectivity measures) of responsiveness to behavioral intervention in individuals with PPA. In order to accomplish these aims, we will enroll 60 individuals with PPA, who will undergo a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation and neuroimaging. Subsequently, participants will be enrolled in treatment designed to promote lasting and generalized improvement of communicative function in core speech-language domains. Participants will be followed for up to one-year post-treatment in order to determine long-term effects of rehabilitation, and their performance will be compared with a historical cohort of untreated PPA patients. This ambitious study and the necessary recruitment will be possible due to an ongoing collaboration with the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, a leading institution in the field of PPA research. The study will broaden the evidence base supporting the efficacy of speech-language intervention in PPA and will provide novel evidence regarding neural predictors of treatment outcomes, with the potential to inform clinical decision-making and improve clinical care for individuals with this debilitating disorder.

    at UCSF

  • 4-Repeat Tauopathy Neuroimaging Initiative - Cycle 2

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The goal of this study is to identify the most reliable methods of analysis for tracking CBD, PSP, and o/vPSP over time. The results from this study may be used in the future to calculate statistical power for clinical drug trials. The study will also provide information about the relative value of novel imaging techniques for diagnosis, as well as the value of imaging techniques versus testing of blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 'biomarkers'.

    at UCSD UCSF

  • Early Access Program With Arimoclomol in US Patients With NPC

    Sorry, not accepting new patients

    NPC is a rare, relentlessly progressive, neurological disease and associated with serious morbidity and shortened life expectancy. The purpose of this Expanded Access Program is to provide early access to arimoclomol for patients with Niemann-Pick Type C disease who, in the opinion and the clinical judgement of the treating physician, may benefit from treatment with arimoclomol. Participants will receive treatment with arimoclomol until their doctor finds it does not help them anymore, they withdraw, or the study is stopped for any reason.

    at UCSF

  • Environmental and Reproductive Health Risk for Lewy Body Dementia

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The goal of this survey study is to identify environmental, occupational and reproductive health risk factors for Lewy body dementia, which includes Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Participants will complete a one-time survey online or over the phone that includes questions on environmental, occupational factors they may have been exposed to and on medical history including reproductive health. Researchers will then compare the responses of people with Lewy body dementia and people without Parkinson's or memory/thinking problems to see which factors play a role in Lewy body dementia. Identifying risk factors can guide future treatment efforts and provide more insight to this dementia.

    at UCSD

  • Neurofilament Surveillance Project (NSP)

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    This is a biomarker study designed to collect and analyze blood specimens from individuals carrying known familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (f-FTLD) mutations compared to a control group of individuals without known f-FTLD mutations. The NSP is an ancillary study to the ARTFL LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration" (ALLFTD) study, NCT04363684. More information can be found at https://www.allftd.org/.

    at UCSF

  • North American Prodromal Synucleinopathy Consortium

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    This study will enroll participants with idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), for the purpose of preparing for a clinical trial of neuroprotective treatments against synucleinopathies.

    at UCLA

  • Phenotype, Genotype & Biomarkers in ALS and Related Disorders

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The goals of this study are: (1) to better understand the relationship between the phenotype and genotype of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related diseases, including primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD); and (2) to develop biomarkers that might be useful in aiding therapy development for this group of disorders.

    at UCSD

  • Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study AD/ADRD Project

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The DPPOS AD/ADRD project will address the overarching question: What are the determinants and the nature of cognitive impairment among persons with pre-diabetes (PreD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), who are a high-risk group for cognitive impairment and represent a large fraction of the United States (US) population? This U19 proposal addresses the National Alzheimer's Project Act goal to "prevent, halt, or reverse AD" in the high-risk group of persons with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, who represent over half of the population aged 60 years and older in the US.

    at UCLA UCSD

Our lead scientists for Dementia research studies include .

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