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Background: About 5 million adults in the United States have age-related brain disorders. These include Alzheimer disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and other dementias. The number of people with these disorders will likely increase as the population ages and life span increases. Inflammation is thought to play a role in AD and MCI. Researchers want to know if an enzyme called PDE4B increases inflammation in people with AD or MCI. Objective: To test whether medical imaging using a new radiotracer (\[18F\]PF-06445974) can measure PDE4B in the brains of people with AD or MCI. Eligibility: People aged 50 years and older with AD or MCI. Healthy volunteers are also needed. Design: Participants will have up to 5 clinic visits with 3 imaging scans of the brain. They will have be screened. They will have a physical exam with blood tests. This will include tests of their heart and nerve function, including memory. Participants will have 2 positron emission tomography (PET) scans. One will use a standard radiotracer. The other will use the study radiotracer. They will receive each tracer through a tube attached to a needle inserted into a vein. During the scan with the study tracer, participants will have a second tube inserted into a vein in the wrist; this tube will be used to draw blood during the scan. Participants will lie on a bed that slides into a doughnut-shaped machine. These visits will take about 6 hours each. Participants will have 1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. They will lie on a bed that slides into a cylinder. This visit will take up to 2 hours....
The Memory Support System (MSS) from the Healthy Action to Benefit Independence \& Thinking® (HABIT) Program is an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Despite the clinical benefits and feasibility, the MSS was primarily developed and used with non-Hispanic White, English-speaking adults. Racial/ethnic minority groups are chronically under-enrolled in clinical trials for Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) due to lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate adaptation of assessment measures and intervention protocols. The purpose of this research study is to examine whether the MSS from HABIT can help Chinese American older adults with mild thinking and memory problems. Target recruitment is 60 Chinese American adults who are primarily Mandarin- (n=30) and Cantonese-speaking (n=30). Forty participants will participate in the trainer-led day planner training and 20 will participate in self-study of the day planner and receive brain health education. Each participant will also be asked to identify a study partner to participate with them.
Older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) often show less brain activity in a specific range (8-13 Hz, known as alpha power) compared to healthy older adults. Those with lower alpha activity, especially in the front part of the brain, usually have problems with executive functions like planning and multitasking. Our research has shown that older adults with lower alpha power in these areas also struggle more with balance when they have to do two things at once (like standing and performing a cognitive task simultaneously). The investigators believe that increasing alpha power in older adults with MCI could improve their balance and executive function, helping them stay independent longer. In early studies, the investigators found that using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at 10 Hz on the front part of the brain can boost alpha power and balance immediately after a single session in older adults with MCI. The effect was stronger in those whose natural brain activity was close to the 10 Hz stimulation. Based on these findings, the investigators plan to conduct a pilot study with older adults aged 65-85 years with MCI. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either real tACS or a sham (placebo) treatment. Our main hypothesis is that real tACS will improve balance when multitasking, and these improvements will last for 1 to 3 months after the treatment. The investigators also believe that tACS will enhance other aspects of executive function and mobility and that these improvements will be linked to increased alpha activity in the brain. Through this study, we aim to gather strong evidence that tailored tACS is a promising treatment to improve cognitive and motor functions and overall brain activity in older adults with MCI.
The purpose of this research is to measure brain activity in individuals with mood disorders and memory problems using a simple, safe, and noninvasive method called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). By comparing brain activity across different groups and relating it to symptom severity, this study aims to improve our understanding of how these conditions affect the brain.
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in older adults is linked to muscle loss (sarcopenia) and can lead to dementia, with pain further impacting cognitive and physical performance. Tai Chi, a mind-body exercise, is recommended for managing MCI as it supports cognitive function, mood, and physical health. The investigators' first goal is to characterize the correlation of heart rate variability and cortical activity on cognitive function and the psychosocial correlates of pain interference and social isolation on cognitive function at baseline and post-intervention (8 weeks of Tai Chi). The second goal is to explain the role of sarcopenia and obesity in the relationship between pain interference and cognitive function. The investigators also want to examine the index of the predictive capacity regarding sarcopenia and obesity on cognitive function outcomes.
Sense of smell tends to decline in individuals with early Alzheimer's disease, typically earlier than when other senses and thinking abilities begin to decline. Memory for new odors is particularly diminished in these individuals. Existing treatments for AD do not improve these symptoms. A targeted treatment for improving sense of smell, called 'Olfactory Training', has been used to improve sense of smell in people with various forms of smell loss, though it is not known whether it can improve smell abilities and thinking abilities in patients who are at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The investigators will conduct a randomized clinical trial with patients who have mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This is an early phase of memory loss that is worse than normal aging and may precede Alzheimer's disease. Patients will be randomized to either olfactory memory training or visual memory training for 3 months, with a final follow-up visit at 6 months. This study will attempt to determine if olfactory training is a useful for improving smell abilities, thinking abilities, and everyday functioning by examining change in these outcomes over time.
The purpose of this study is to test whether a special memory training program, called CogMed, can help people with early memory problems. The Investigators want to see if this training improves memory and also helps reduce stress. The Investigators also want to see if CogMed results in changes to a blood biomarker called p-Tau 217, which possibly indicate Alzheimer's disease (AD).
The goal of this study is to test a new way to improve sleep quality in persons living with mild cognitive impairment. The treatment combines a safe and gentle way to stimulate the brain, called transcranial magnetic stimulation, with a psychological treatment, called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
Effective, clinically meaningful treatments are lacking for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is associated with increased risk of transition to dementia. Cognitive training represents an important therapeutic strategy. In a previous study, crossword puzzles were found to be superior to computerized cognitive training on the primary cognitive outcome and function with decreased brain atrophy. Building on these findings, this study will evaluate and compare the impact of high dose crosswords (4 puzzles per week) to low dose crosswords (1 puzzle per week) and a health education control group on the cognition and function of participants.
Bio-Hermes-002 is a 120-day cross-sectional study that will result in a blood, CSF, retinal, digital, MRI, and PET brain imaging biomarker database that can be used to determine the primary objective. Digital biomarkers and blood-based biomarkers will be tested to determine whether a meaningful relationship exists between biomarkers alone or in combination with tau or amyloid brain pathology identified through PET images.