Alzheimer's Disease clinical trials at UC Davis

The purpose of this research is to determine if training in memory support aids and healthy lifestyle activities (physical exercise, mentally stimulating activities and stress management) can have a positive effect on memory, thinking, and activities that people do every day. Participation in this study will involve being placed into one of two groups: a Self-Guided Intervention Group or a Structured Intervention Group. Both groups will be asked to attend group sessions in which they will be provided education on memory support strategies and lifestyle changes. The Structured Intervention Group will also be provided with an iPad and a digital application (called EMMA) to track their activity. Study participation involves a 6-month intervention and completing outcome measures at 4 different time points for up to a year.

Compensatory aids (e.g., alarms, calendars) play an important supporting role when completing everyday tasks (e.g., appointments, medication management), and there is a growing body of scientific work suggesting that compensatory training improves daily functioning. However, traditional paper-based calendars and to-do-lists have limitations related to accumulation of information, difficulty retrieving information, and remembering to complete activities. Such limitations may be overcome using a digital format through organized digital files, search functions, and alarms. This pilot project proposes to train older adults at risk for cognitive decline to use the Digital Memory Notebook (DMN), a tablet-based application (app), to support everyday functioning. The primary goal is to obtain preliminary evidence that a 6-week, individual and group-based DMN training intervention results in demonstrable changes in target behaviors (e.g., goal-directed DMN use to support everyday activities) among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive complaints (SCC). Participants will complete a curriculum involving 2-hour weekly sessions for 6-weeks. Each week will cover a specific function of the DMN and will include standardized goal-setting and weekly homework targets. Following the 6-week intervention, participants will continue to use the DMN app for 4-weeks to evaluate stability. Participants will complete a questionnaire packet 1 week prior to the 6-week intervention, 1 week after the 6-week intervention, and 5 weeks following the 6-week intervention. MCI and SCC participants will complete separate 6-week individual or group interventions spaced two months apart at UCD.

The purpose of this research study is to see if lifestyle changes can protect memory and thinking (cognition) as we age. A recent study in Finland found that a combination of physical and cognitive exercise, diet, and social activity protected cognitive function in healthy older adults who were at increased risk of significant memory loss. So far no medications can rival this positive outcome. The point of POINTER is to test if lifestyle change can also protect against memory loss in Americans.