Dementia

Background: There are two basic types of movement disorders. Some cause excessive movement, some cause slowness or lack of movement. Some of these are caused by mutations in genes. On the other hand, dementia is a condition of declining mental abilities, especially memory. Dementia can occur at any age but becomes more frequent with age. Researchers want to study the genes of families with a history of movement disorders or dementia. They hope to find a genetic cause of these disorders. This can help them better understand and treat the diseases. This study will not be limited to a particular disorder, but will study all movement disorders or dementias in general. This study will perform genetic testing to identify the genetic causes of movement disorders and dementia. Today, genetic testing can be done to analyze multiple genes at the same time. This increases the chances of finding the genetic cause of movement disorders and dementias. Objectives: To learn more about movement disorders and dementia, their causes, and treatments. Eligibility: Adults and children with a movement disorder or dementia, and their family members. Healthy volunteers. Design: Participants will be screened with medical history and blood tests. Some will have physical exam. Participants will give a blood sample by a needle in the arm. This can be done at the clinic, by their own doctor, or at home. Alternatively, a saliva sample may be provided if a blood sample cannot be obtained. Participants can opt to send an extra blood sample to a repository for future study. Genetic test will be done on these samples. The samples will be coded. The key to the code will remain at NIA. Only NIA investigators will have access to the code key. Participants can request to receive results of the tests. Participation is generally a single visit. Participants may be called back for extra

The goal of this study is to test CGM ASSIST. This is a digital tool that uses an interactive information display-an easy-to-read screen designed to help people with dementia (or memory loss) and diabetes, as well as their caregivers and doctors. Managing diabetes is often difficult for people with memory issues. This study uses a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), which is a device that tracks blood sugar levels in real-time. CGM ASSIST adds a new way to see this data through interactive displays. These displays show clear information and medical guidelines to help patients and caregivers make sense of the glucose readings. The study aims to: * Increase Awareness: Help patients and caregivers recognize the dangers of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and how to treat it. * Improve Teamwork: Encourage "shared decision-making," where patients, caregivers, and doctors work together to make health choices. * Test Feasibility: See if it is easy and helpful for people with memory loss to use these interactive displays in their daily lives. * Understand Experiences: Learn how the thoughts and feelings of patients and families affect how they manage diabetes. By using these interactive displays, the researchers hope to make it easier for families to understand their health needs and communicate better with their medical team. Participants will: * Answer a survey about how they manage their diabetes * Learn how to use a Continuous Glucose Monitor and wear it for 14 days * Answer 3 brief telephone surveys during these 14 days * Complete a clinic visit with their doctor and answer a final survey on how this visit went using the CGM ASSIST report

As Taiwan transitions into a super-aged society, rising dementia rates have severely strained long-term care systems. Although current daycare centers provide multi-modal programs, they remain limited to behavioral training, lacking precise interventions targeting brain function and neuroplasticity or integrated non-invasive neuromodulation technologies. Furthermore, urban-rural disparities in resources, staffing allocation, and tech experience hinder practical deployment, with empirical research remaining scarce. Addressing this gap, this study investigates a smart brain health promotion model combining personalized gamma music stimulation and cognitive training for mild cognitive impairment and dementia, while evaluating its feasibility across diverse care settings.

The investigator's objective is to explore the definitive evidence of mushroom on cognitive functions among at-risk middle-aged and young-olds. The investigator carefully designed a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the role of mushrooms in promoting cognitive functioning among around 600 middle-aged adults and young-olds. Participants were selected based on specific inclusion criteria, such as being community-living adults aged 45-80 years with a family history of dementia or subjective cognitive decline, while consuming mushrooms no more than once a week and having no dementia, along with the exclusion of individuals with neurological or psychiatric disorders and significant sensory or motor impairments. Participants in the intervention group will consume Pleurotus citrinopileatus mushroom powder daily for 24months, with compliance

Vascular risk factors drive stroke, heart disease, and dementia, but translating lifestyle guidelines into routine clinical care remains challenging. To address this, we developed the BASIC-S framework, targeting Blood pressure, Activity, Sleep, Interaction (socially), Consumption (nutrition), and Support using partner support and motivational interviewing. This individual-focused approach bypasses the logistical and financial barriers of complex clinical interventions by using sustained behavioral science to support gradual lifestyle changes. This study is a single-center, mixed-methods, cluster-randomized pilot trial evaluating the feasibility of the BASIC-S protocol in an occupational setting. A maximum of 60 households (120 participants) will be randomized 1:1 to either the BASIC-S intervention (motivational coaching, secure video check-ins, automated text messages, and a digital workbook) or standard care. Outcomes will assess feasibility, acceptability, and the validity of new tracking metrics to inform a future full-scale trial.

This research project has three main goals: (1) To create a new screening tool that helps primary care doctors spot signs of neglect in older adults with dementia. (2) To design a support program that can be delivered both in person and through a mobile app on Android phones. (3) To run a clinical trial with three groups of participants to find out how effective the screening tool is on its own, and how effective it is when combined with the support program-compared to standard care. This current phase of the project focuses on parts of goals 1 and 2, as described below.

The goal of this project is to investigate the effect of cognitive empathy training on mental health, inflammation, and immune function in caregivers of people living with dementia (PLWD), and to examine the underlying psychological and neurobiological mechanisms. The primary aim is to establish the effectiveness of cognitive empathy training in improving caregiver mental health and immune function, and in decreasing caregiver inflammation The secondary aim is to investigate the psychological and neurobiological mechanism by which cognitive empathy training improves caregiver well-being

This study will evaluate the Social Reminder System, a mobile informatics system designed to support persons with memory concerns and their care partners. The system is intended to aid social integration for persons with memory concerns and improve care coordination and reduce caregiver burden among caregivers. Researchers will enroll 100 persons with memory concerns and their care partners. Half of the dyads will be randomly assigned to receive the Social Reminder System technology for a 6-month period, and the other half will be randomly assigned to the usual care control group. Participants will complete baseline, 3-month, and 6-month surveys. A subset of participants who receive the technology will also be asked to complete a semi-structured interview after the 6-month survey.

Background: About 5 million adults in the U.S. have Alzheimer s disease or another adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder. Many studies have found that inflammation in the brain contributes to these diseases. Researchers want to find a better way to measure this inflammation. Objective: To learn whether COX-1 and/or COX-2 is elevated in the brains of individuals with neurodegenerative brain disease compared to healthy volunteers. Eligibility: Adults age 18 years and older in good general health who have an adult-onset neurodegenerative dementia, such as AD, FTD, corticobasal syndrome, Huntington s disease, or MCI, ALS and healthy adult volunteers enrolled in protocols 01-M-0254 or 17-M-0181. Design: Participants will be screened with medical history, physical exam with vital signs, and lab tests. They will have a neuropsychological testing. Their heart function will be measured. Participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The MRI scanner is a metal tube surrounded by a strong magnetic field. Participants will lie on a table that slides in and out of the tube. The machine makes noise. Participants will get earplugs. Participants will have 2 PET scans. They will be injected with the study drugs through an intravenous catheter placed in an arm vein. The PET scanner is shaped like a doughnut. Participants will lie on a bed that slides in and out of the scanner. A plastic mask will be molded to their head to keep them from moving. A thin plastic tube will be put into an artery at the wrist or elbow crease area. This will be used to draw blood during the scan. Participants will have 2-5 study visits. Participation lasts 1 week to 4 months, depending on scheduling.

Trial weblink: https://www.memoryexam.com/job/norms/ Participants enrolled in this study will complete a single-session, non-invasive, computerized cognitive assessment administered through a secure, web-based digital platform. The purpose of the study is to establish normative cognitive performance data from healthy adults aged 18-100 years and develop age-, sex-, and education-adjusted reference values for the digital assessment platform. This is an observational study and does not involve any therapeutic intervention, investigational treatment, or alteration of routine medical care. Following electronic informed consent, participants will complete a standardized screening questionnaire to determine eligibility. The questionnaire collects demographic information, education, English language proficiency, medical and neurological history, psychiatric history, medication use, substance use, sleep history, and self-reported cognitive concerns. Standardized mood screening instruments (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) are also administered. Individuals meeting predefined exclusion criteria that could significantly influence cognitive performance will not be included in the normative dataset. Eligible participants will then complete a digital cognitive assessment battery using standardized visual and auditory instructions. The platform utilizes automated voice-recognition technology to capture spoken responses and standardized algorithms to score performance, eliminating the need for examiner scoring and ensuring consistent administration across participants. Total study participation, including consent, screening, and testing, is approximately 30 to 45 minutes. The cognitive battery evaluates multiple cognitive domains commonly assessed during neuropsychological examinations. Language abilities are assessed through phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks, measuring the ability to rapidly generate words within specified categories. Confrontation naming is evaluated using digitally presented images that participants identify verbally. Learning and memory are assessed through immediate and delayed verbal recall tasks, including recognition memory measures. Attention and working memory are evaluated using forward and backward digit span tasks. Executive functioning and attention are further assessed using a brief computerized problem-solving task. Equivalent alternate versions of selected tasks may be administered to minimize practice effects while measuring the same cognitive domains. All assessments are brief, non-invasive, and completed using spoken responses. The platform automatically records participant responses, response timing, and scoring metrics. Voice recordings are collected solely to support automated scoring and quality assurance. All electronic data are transmitted using encrypted connections and stored within HIPAA-aligned cloud infrastructure. Personally identifiable information is stored separately from cognitive performance data using unique study identification numbers, and only authorized study personnel have access to identifiable information. De-identified data will be used to generate normative reference values. A subset of approximately 100 participants may be invited to complete a second assessment 2-4 weeks after the initial visit to evaluate test-retest reliability. Participation in this follow-up assessment is voluntary. Participants will not receive diagnostic results or individualized interpretations of their performance because the study is intended solely to establish normative reference data. If responses on the PHQ-9 suggest potential acute self-harm risk, the platform will provide crisis resources and notify the study team in accordance with the study safety procedures. The primary outcome of the study is the development of age-, sex-, and education-adjusted normative reference values for the digital cognitive assessment platform, supporting standardized interpretation of future assessments in clinical and research settings.

This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of a brief medication collaboration intervention among older adults (age 60+) with early-stage dementia or mild cognitive impairment who take multiple medications and their family caregivers. The main aims are to: 1) determine the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention for older adults with early-stage dementia and their family caregivers, and 2) explore the effects of intervention on medication collaboration, medication adherence, and beliefs about dementia and autonomy. In this study, participants will: 1) complete a 15-30-minute baseline interview (by Zoom or phone), 2) participate together in a 45-60-minute virtual intervention led by an interventionist that includes: Assessment of medication responsibilities and beliefs. Education about dementia and medication management. Cognitive restructuring to address beliefs about independence and caregiver assistance. Collaborative planning for medication responsibilities and routines; and lastly 3) complete a 15-20-minute one-month follow-up interview (by Zoom or phone) to assess the intervention's acceptability and changes in medication management outcomes.

The goal of this study is to learn more about the changes in the brains of patients with cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. What findings can be used to earlier detect patients that will develop Alzheimers? 2. Which differences are seen between healthy and cognitively impaired patients? 3. Which differences are seen between patients with Alzheimers disease? Participants will undergo: * Cognitive tests * Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) * Electroencephalography (EEG) * Blood sample collection * Fecal sample collection * A randomized group will undergo polysomnography analysis.

The purpose of this study is to see whether an adapted questionnaire called the Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool (CHAT) for care partners of hospitalized patients living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) (CHAT-AD) can help people with dementia receive better care after they go home from the hospital. Participants will be a care partner ('family member or friend') who provides unpaid care to a hospitalized adult relative or partner to help them take care of themselves because of dementia. Participants can expect to be in this study for 14 days.

The investigators will perform a parallel-group multicenter randomized controlled trial of a 1-year pre-enrolled acute hospital care at home intervention vs usual care for people living with dementia. Patients will be randomized only after eligibility determination and after the family caregiver agrees to enroll; people living with dementia will assent when able. Patients will be allocated in a concealed fashion to the control and intervention groups in randomly selected block sizes of 4 or 6 in 4 strata reflecting their functional status (activities of daily living: 0, 1, 2-3, 4-6). Although family and clinicians cannot be blinded, the investigators will blind the data collectors and assessors.

Care partners of people living with dementia often experience ongoing stress and unmet support needs. This study evaluates the feasibility of a low-intensity, supportive education and resource intervention for care partners who previously participated in an observational study. Participants complete a baseline phone interview and a short stress journaling activity, followed by a six-week series of automated educational and supportive messages delivered by text message or email. Participants may also take part in an optional peer support focus group. The study examines caregiver stress, resilience, engagement with resources, and participant feedback to inform future caregiver support interventions.

The Lived Experience Narratives in Dementia (LEND) research programme involves five work packages (WP). WP1 explores how people living with dementia use narratives and how narratives can impact them. Findings will support the development of LEND theory. WP 2-3 focus on developing the digital Online LEND Intervention, assessing its usability and acceptability, and conducting a feasibility study within NHS memory assessment and community services. Activities across the first three WPs include interviews, focus groups, user-testing sessions, engagement evaluation interviews, and a two-arm randomised feasibility trial using a range of outcome measures. Findings from this stage will inform refinement of the intervention and determine the feasibility of progressing to a future randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the Online LEND Intervention. WP4 is the Online LEND Intervention two-arm RCT. WP5 involves dissemination. The protocol for WP4 and 5 have not yet been developed and rely on results from WP1-3.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the impact of screening for elder neglect in older adults with dementia in primary care settings and the impact of an intervention for caregivers of older adults with dementia. The hypothesis of the study are: * Neglect screening in primary care will have a positive impact on outcomes including a decrease in presence of neglect at 6 months and other patient and caregiver outcomes * Neglect screening paired with a caregiving intervention will have a greater impact on these outcomes than screening alone Researchers will compare three groups of participants to find out how effective the screening tool is on its own, and how effective it is when combined with the support program, compared to standard care. Participants will be asked to: * attend primary care clinic visits * complete questionnaires * participate in the intervention * participate in a semi-structured interview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether WeACT, a self-paced, web-based program, is feasible and helpful for adult family caregivers of a relative living with dementia. WeACT is based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which teaches skills to handle difficult thoughts and feelings and take steps toward what matters most. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Can caregivers complete WeACT as planned? * Do caregivers show improvements in mental health and coping after using WeACT? * What are caregivers' experiences with the program, and what suggestions do they have to improve it? Participants will: * Complete six self-paced weekly online modules and use the daily practice section during the program. * Complete online questionnaires before starting and after completing the program. * Take part in one online interview about their experience.

The goal of this randomized study is to find out if animal-assisted therapy (AAT) - a structured program where trained animals take part in care sessions guided by health professionals - can help improve movement abilities in older adults with dementia or memory-related conditions who are staying in a medical rehabilitation unit. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Can adding animal-assisted therapy to standard rehabilitation improve participants' movement and motor abilities better than standard rehabilitation alone? * Can this combined approach help participants stay more independent in daily activities? * Can this combined approach improve participants' quality of life? * Can this combined approach reduce the risk of falls? Researchers will compare two groups: * Group 1 (experimental): Standard rehabilitation + animal-assisted therapy sessions with a trained dog and/or rabbits * Group 2 (control): Standard rehabilitation alone Both groups attend 2 one-hour rehabilitation sessions per week for 4 weeks. Participants will: * Complete movement and daily-life ability tests at the start and end of the study * Attend 8 rehabilitation sessions (over 4 weeks) * Participants in the animal therapy group will interact with a trained dog and/or rabbits during sessions, guided by a certified nurse-animal therapist, a psychomotor therapist, and a nursing assistant * Be assessed at the end of the 4-week program (Week 6) to measure any changes in motor abilities, independence, quality of life, and fall risk

The goal of this randomized study is to find out whether using a structured, protocolized music program (MUSIC CARE©) during daily hygiene care can reduce care refusal in older adults with dementia (memory and thinking conditions) who live in nursing homes (EHPADs). What is "care refusal"? Care refusal (also called resistance to care) happens when a person with dementia refuses or becomes distressed during everyday care activities such as bathing, dressing, or taking medications. It is a very common situation in nursing homes that can be stressful for both residents and care staff. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Can a structured, daily music program reduce care refusal during bathing and hygiene care compared to current practice? * Does using music for 20 minutes during the care session work as well as - or differently from - using it both before and during care (40 minutes total)? * Does the music program also reduce distressing behavioral symptoms in residents? * Does it reduce the need for sedative or psychiatric medications? * Does it reduce professional burnout in caregivers who perform hygiene care? Researchers will compare three groups: * Group 1 (Control): Current practice - care staff may use MUSIC CARE© at their own discretion, as they already do * Group 2 (Music During Care): Structured use of MUSIC CARE© for 20 minutes during every hygiene care session, daily for 4 weeks * Group 3 (Music Before + During Care): Structured use of MUSIC CARE© for 20 minutes before and 20 minutes during every hygiene care session (40 minutes total), daily for 4 weeks Nursing homes (not individual residents) are randomly assigned to a group. Residents and their caregivers will: * Have their level of care refusal recorded daily for 4 weeks * Have neuropsychiatric symptoms and medication use assessed at the start, Week 4, and Week 8 * Caregivers will also complete a confidential and anonymous professional burnout questionnaire at 3 time points

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.

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.

There are evidence based processes for assessment and management of pain using pharmacologic and nonpharmacological approaches. These were reviewed and included within the Pain Management Clinical Practice Guideline (Pain Management CPG) recently developed by AMDA: The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. There are, however, many challenges to translating the use of Clinical Practice Guidelines into clinical settings. To overcome these challenges we developed and previously tested a theoretically based approach and merged this approach with the Pain Management CPG, which is referred to as the PAIN-CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE-USING THE EVIDENCE INTEGRATION TRIANGLE (PAIN-CPG-EIT). The PAIN-CPG-EIT involves a research nurse facilitator working with an identified community champion(s) and stakeholder team for 12 months to provide the following four components: Component I: Establishing and meeting monthly with a Stakeholder Team; Component II: Education of the staff; Component III: Mentoring and motivating the staff to address pain; Component IV: Ongoing evaluation of resident pain outcomes. Twelve communities will be included with 25 residents living with dementia and pain recruited from each community. Six communities will be randomized to treatment (PAIN-CPG-EIT) and six randomized to education only (EO) which involves providing the same education to staff as is done in Component II of PAIN-CPG-EIT. The primary aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of use of the PAIN-CPG-EIT to improve the assessment, diagnosis and management of pain and decrease pain intensity among nursing home residents living with dementia between baseline, 4 and 12 months and evaluate treatment fidelity. A secondary aim of the study is to consider differences in measurement, treatment and response to treatment between male and female and Black versus White residents living with dementia. Findings from this study will help build on the currently limited information about pain presentation and management among older adults living with dementia in nursing homes and improve health equity of aging populations experiencing pain.

The goal of this observational study is to examine if older patients who need to be under isolation precautions due to multidrug resistant bacteria or other reasons have an increased risk of suffering from delirium or cognitive decline compared to older patients without isolation precautions. To compare this, every person under isolation precautions is compared to other persons of the same age, gender, comorbidities, frailty status and hospital department. Delirium is assessed twice daily with a screening tool named 3D-CAM and cognitive performance is tested by the MOCA-Test six weeks after discharge from hospital and compared to baseline values which are assessed directly after study enrollment. The study duration for each patient participating is from the time of enrollment during hospitalization until 6 weeks after hospital discharge.

The purpose of this study is to see if a focused ultrasound neuromodulation can be safely and effectively used to treat symptoms of emotional dysregulation such as agitation, irritability and anxiety