Actively Recruiting Studies
Memory & Cognition
Home-Based Assessment
This study seeks to determine how easy it is to detect cognitive changes in adults aged 75 years or older from the comfort of their home. The study will compare three at-home methods, including: (1) mailing in paper questionnaires along with undergoing a live telephone interview; (2) completing an examination by using a special automated telephone interview; and (3) undergoing a similar examination by way of an easy-to-use computer (provided to participants for the study) connected to the internet.
HOPE: Health Outreach Program for the Elderly
This longitudinal study increases our understanding of age related changes in memory and thinking. It serves as the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center (BU ADC) main research registry, where participants agree to be contacted regarding other BU ADC-approved studies.
Understanding False Memory in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
This study seeks to better understand why patients with AD and other dementias frequently remember things that never happened. The ultimate goal of this NIA-sponsored study is to provide the basis for ways to reduce false memories in patients with dementia.
Neuroimaging
Brain and Heart Aging
This study will relate cardiac function to brain changes, using sensitive neuroimaging and cognitive measures, among aging adults with memory loss. Participants attend a single study visit and undergo cognitive testing, brain imaging, and heart imaging. Identifying relations between cardiac integrity and brain aging may contribute to future prevention strategies for cognitive decline and dementia.
Caregiving Support & Education
CARE-Plus
This caregiver-based study is seeking to determine whether an educational intervention can reduce behavioral problems in patients with AD and improve caregivers’ emotional well-being. It consists of a 5-week group intervention which offers 90-minute weekly sessions on AD, its symptoms, and tips for improving communication and interactions with the family member. It also focuses on family members’ feelings about their own caregiving skills. The individual with AD is not involved in this study.
Home Safety Education
This study compares two types of education to find out if they help caregivers to make home safety modifications. Eligible participants are persons with a diagnosis of AD or a related dementia and caregivers living with a person with AD or a related dementia. This study takes place at participants’ homes, and at the end of the study (3 months for each participant), the caregiver is offered the alternative education format.
PAIRS Program: Partnering Students with Early-Stage AD Patients
This program pairs first-year medical students with patients with early-stage AD and related disorders. The PAIRS program (1) seeks to educate the medical students about the care and support-related issues faced by patients with AD and (2) provides patients with the opportunity to informally interact with medical students. Student-patient pairs will meet monthly to participate in activities together throughout the academic year.
Genetics
MIRAGE: Multi-Institutional Research in Alzheimer’s Genetic Epidemiology
This longstanding study evaluates the association between genetic (hereditary) and non-genetic risk factors for AD. The study is currently recruiting people with a diagnosis of probable AD who also have an unaffected sibling who would be willing to participate with them. The study is being conducted at multiple sites in the United States and abroad.
REVEAL III: Risk Evaluation and Education for AD
This study is a multi-center, nationwide research project. The goal of REVEAL III is to provide healthy adults with genetic susceptibility testing and information about their chances to develop AD.
For more information, please contact the BU ADC Recruitment Coordinator, Erin Whalen, at 617 414-1078 or ewhalen@bu.edu.
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