What is this Study about?

The objective of this study is to better understand caregivers’ perspectives regarding the pharmacological management of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). While current recommendations are largely based on the opinions of healthcare professionals and experts, the viewpoint of caregivers remains underexplored. By better understanding their experience, we hope to contribute to improved guidelines and care for individuals with neurocognitive disorders. 

What is this Study about?

Assistive technology products are things that help you function or carry out activities more easily by yourself. Products could be any devices, equipment, instruments, or software. Examples could be mobile phone apps that provide calendar reminders, switches that turn off stoves, or walkers.

Assistive technology services are activities or resources that help you to use or maintain assistive technology products. Services refer to assessment, training, and maintenance that help with choosing, using, and repairing assistive technology products.

Getting these products and services means having to contact different organizations. If these products and services could be bundled as one unit, it may help persons with dementia get them more easily and potentially reduce costs. Right now, policymakers need more information about providing assistive technologies as bundles.

The purpose of the study is to learn about your experiences with accessing and using products and services for managing dementia. This information will help us to know what should be included in bundles.

For persons with dementia: We would like to interview you now to understand your past and current experiences. We would also like to interview you each year for up to three years (for three interviews) to see how your experiences change over time. You may leave at any time.

For care partners: The purpose of the surveys is to learn about your views and experiences with accessing and using products and services for managing dementia. This information will help us to know what should be included in bundles. If interested, you may also take part in longitudinal interviews (two interviews, one annually) after the initial survey in year one to see how your experiences changed over time. You may leave at any time.

For healthcare providers: The purpose of the surveys is to learn about your views and experiences with assisting persons with dementia and care partners to access and use products and services for managing dementia. This information will help us to know what should be included in bundles and how delivery may be improved. If interested, you may also take part 6 / 10 in longitudinal interviews (two interviews, one annually) after completing the initial survey in year one to see how your experiences changed over time. You may leave at any time.

What is this Study about?

Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition among people 65 and older and increases the risk of social isolation, depression, communication difficulties and dementia. Dementia risk may be reduced through hearing rehabilitation, and it is critical to develop tools for identifying hearing loss and its impact on communication. The Hearing and Functioning in Everyday Life Questionnaire (HFEQ) is a measure to identify hearing loss and everyday life functioning, not yet been evaluated for people with combined hearing loss and cognitive impairment. To bridge this gap, the aim is to evaluate the HFEQ for this group. The study has a cross-sectional observational study design. Adults over 60 years, with hearing loss and with and without cognitive impairment will be recruited. Data collection will include a cognitive and hearing assessment, assessment of conversation effectiveness and efficiency, hearing and general health history and five questionnaires (HFEQ, the Life-Space questionnaire, the Social Functioning in Dementia scale, and the PROMIS anxiety and depression scales).

What is this Study about?

This randomized controlled study evaluates the efficacy of a hippocampus-targeted, computerized spatial memory intervention in older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Participants (≥55 years) will be randomized to either (a) a spatial memory intervention program or (b) an active placebo. Primary outcomes are changes in memory and cognition from baseline to post-training and 6-month follow-up, assessed with standardized neuropsychological measures and validated spatial memory tasks. Secondary outcomes include everyday functioning, quality of life, perceived stress, and related psychosocial indices.  

A neuroimaging sub-study acquires structural MRI and task-based fMRI to quantify hippocampal morphometry and functional recruitment; we hypothesize training-related improvements will correlate with hippocampal structural/functional change. Exploratory biomarkers (lipids, glucose/insulin for HOMA-IR, cortisol) and polygenic risk scores for dementia are obtained to control inter-individual variability and potential moderators/mediators of training response. The central hypothesis is that sustained, strategy-level engagement of hippocampus-dependent spatial memory will improve cognitive performance in MCI and yield convergent MRI biomarker signatures, supporting experience-dependent plasticity and informing scalable, non-pharmacologic interventions for delaying cognitive decline. 

What is this Study about?

The aim of this study is to understand how people with dementia, family/friend carers and healthcare providers experience the Driving and Dementia Roadmap website. This website contains resources to help people in the decision-making about when to stop driving and adjust to life after driving. We are also interested in knowing how the Driving and Dementia Roadmap may impact how people manage stopping to drive. The findings of this study will be used to improve and ensure that resources, like the Driving and Dementia Roadmap will continue to be available for people with dementia and those who support them. 

What is this Study about?

This study will assess if an in-vehicle Driving Monitoring System can identify differences in driving behaviours between older adults who are cognitively healthy, those with mild cognitive impairment, and those with mild dementia. 

What is this Study about?

This study explores Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) as a potential treatment for mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, the mild electrical stimulation is delivered to a part of the brain called the Pedunculopontine Nucleus (PPN), which helps regulate cognitive and sleep-related brain rhythms. The trial will recruit a small group of participants to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of DBS-PPN in treating AD. The goal of this study is to see if targeting this part of the brain with DBS can help people living with mild AD improve their memory, thinking skills, and sleep quality.

What is this Study about?

Many older adults start to experience poorer sleep quality as they age, which can be associated with worse memory and cognition. Previous studies have shown that sleep can be improved when quiet sounds are presented at the right times during slow-wave sleep. We are interested in whether we can improve sleep and associated memory and cognitive function using these sounds in older adults. Information gathered from this study will be used to inform whether quiet sounds presented during slow-wave sleep can improve sleep, memory, and cognitive function.

What is this Study about?

Thinking skills (also known as cognitive functions), change from younger to older adulthood. In this study we are investigating how these shifting architectures of cognition and brain function relate to one another, and how these brain and cognitive changes impact decision-making in younger and older adults.

You may qualify to participate if you are: 1) 60 years of age or older, 2) right-handed, 3) in good health, 4) and have normal or corrected-to-normal vision. Participation will involve completing cognitive tasks, questionnaires, and non-invasive brain measurements using MRI. If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact [email protected]