Everyday Memory Impairment in PD-related Cognitive Decline

Launched by WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · Jul 14, 2020

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying memory problems that can happen in people with Parkinson’s disease, especially those who have mild difficulties with thinking and memory but do not have dementia. The goal is to see if two types of memory training—called process training and strategy training—can help improve everyday memory in these individuals. The study will also look at brain imaging data to better understand how memory and brain activity are connected in Parkinson’s.

People who might join the study are adults over 50 with Parkinson’s disease who are in the early to middle stages of the condition, are taking standard Parkinson’s medication, and have noticed some memory difficulties. Participants will take part in memory training sessions over about eight weeks and will have assessments before and after the training, plus follow-up checks for up to a year. There is also a comparison group of healthy people who will do some memory tests to help researchers understand if the findings are specific to Parkinson’s. This study is currently recruiting and aims to help find ways to support memory in Parkinson’s patients.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Males and females over age 50 who meet criteria for typical idiopathic PD
• • Hoehn \& Yahr stage I-III,
• • Treated with levodopa/carbidopa
• • Have subjective memory complaints (as identified in phone screen),
• • Have an informant to complete relevant ratings,
• • Medications should be stable for 4 weeks prior with no changes planned during the treatment portion of the study (Pre to Post); changes over the follow-up period will be tracked and accounted for as appropriate.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Dementia according to MDS criteria or MoCA score \<21.
• • Other neurological disorders (e.g. stroke, seizures), brain surgery, severe systemic diseases, major psychiatric disorder or history of psychotic symptoms (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delusions, hallucinations), or drug abuse.
• • Treatment with medications that interfere with cognition (e.g. anticholinergics).
• • Any other condition that would interfere with participation (e.g., non-English speaking, significant current depression).
• • Psychiatric conditions/ symptoms that are common in PD (e.g. anxiety, depression) are allowed if they are deemed insufficient to interfere with participation.