Chronic Pain and Postoperative Cognitive Function in the Elderly: a Prospective Observational Study
The purpose of this study is to explore how chronic pain and surgery affects brain function and cognition in the elderly, in order to identify those at risk of developing post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). As part of the evaluation, we will use a series of well-established measures, including pain questionnaires, cognitive assessment tests, blood sampling and modern imaging techniques to quantify POCD. We are asking you to take part in this research study because you match the inclusion criteria and are scheduled to have surgery.
Investigating the Temperature Dependence of Age-related Tau Pathology Relevant to Early Alzheimer's Disease
The purpose of this study is to assess how day to day patterns in how your body temperature naturally varies over time may contribute to increasing risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study will enroll 120 adults aged between 60–80 years. We will be testing to see whether specific patterns in body temperature, recorded over 2 days, are associated with results from several tests. These tests will include cognitive evaluations, a PET-MR scan, and a blood test. During the two days we measure your body temperature, we will ask you to visit the sleep lab at night to have your sleep assessed, because body temperature and sleep are closely related. We hope to identify the mechanisms by which age-related body temperature and sleep changes contribute to AD neurodegeneration in normal elderly patients, the group that could profit the most from sleep improvement strategies.
Using a Health Disparity Research Framework to examine mechanisms linking Obstructive Sleep Apnea with higher Alzheimer s disease risk in older Blacks/African-Americans
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether older African Americans with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a higher risk for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in comparison to older non-Hispanic Whites. African-Americans (blacks) have twice the risk of developing AD compared to non-Hispanic whites (whites), due in part to the higher prevalence of vascular risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension. Additionally, blacks have a higher prevalence of OSA with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). This study aims to determine if OSA is associated with neurodegeneration and higher amounts of tau protein in the brain (a biomarker of AD) in older African Americans.
Brain Effects of Lifetime Racial/Ethnic Discrimination on the LC-NE Function and the Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
The purpose of our study is to understand how the effects of stress, induced by social factors such as racial discrimination, contribute to an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease among African Americans. When compared to whites, African Americans are at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease. These differences may be due to social and biological stressors; such as discrimination. One of the major systems in our body that plays a big role in how our body responds to stress is the Brain-Norepinephrine (NE) system. This system is involved in the body’s response to an event seen as stressful or frightening. Continuous stress can cause short-term effects on the Brain-NE system, with reduced ability to concentrate and long-term effects resulting in memory loss. Therefore, the researchers are recruiting black and white individuals to undergo memory testing and brain imaging to further study the differences in how the brain works between the two groups.
Neuroenergetic Adaptations in Alzheimer's Disease: Implications on Amyloid Burden and Cognition
The purpose of this study is to see if there is a relationship between energy production in the brain and risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In healthy cells, the sugars, fats, and proteins we consume are broken down and turned into the energy that allows us to carry on living. This is done in two ways: one way, known as oxidative phosphorylation (or OxPhos), makes more energy, but requires more steps. The other way, known as aerobic glycolysis (or AG), makes less energy, but happens faster, and is useful when the brain or other parts of the body have greater energy demands. While research has shown the consequences of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (deposition of plaques and formation of structures called neurofibrillary tangles in the brain), researchers are still trying to understand the cause. As we learn more about the way the brain makes energy, scientists have questioned whether changes in the brain’s ability to shift from OxPhos to AG to make energy efficiently plays a role in the risk for AD.
Transcranial Photobiomodulation for Alzheimer's Disease (TRAP-AD)
People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have more memory problems than normal for people their age, but their symptoms are not as severe as those of people with Alzheimer’s disease. They are able to carry out their normal daily activities and make important medical decisions. Some, but not all, people with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The primary purpose of this research study is to determine if application of near infrared energy to the forehead can help improve thinking and memory in people with MCI. Near infrared energy is like light but is not visible to the human eye. This study will compare near infrared exposure with a placebo or sham procedure. The sham procedure will look and feel just like the near infrared procedure but won’t include near infrared exposure. A sham procedure is used in research studies to compare the results and side effects of the treatment being studied to the results and side effects of receiving no treatment.
Effects of Successful OSA TreatmENT on Memory and AD BIomarkers in Older AduLts (ESSENTIAL)
The purpose of this research study is to look at the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This is because it is shown that older adults with OSA are at increased risk for dementia and AD. This study proposes a novel and flexible approach to treating OSA in cognitively normal older adults and will test whether those successfully treated for OSA have slower decline in cognitive function, and improved AD biomarkers (measured in blood) compared to those who are untreated. The multi-modal therapy for OSA is the use of positive airway pressure, oral appliance therapy, or positional therapy, either one or a combination of the 3. We will compare 3-month changes in plasma AD biomarkers, in those randomized to OSA treatment and wait-list control groups, as well as compare change over 3 months in cognitive function between those randomized to OSA treatment and wait-list control groups, and will compare change profiles for cognition and plasma AD biomarkers in all treated (n~150) and untreated (n~100) subjects for up to 24 months of follow-up.
Race-spEcific regional Tau deposition and role of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (RETOSA)
The purpose of this research study is to test whether racial differences exist in markers of brain loss in Alzheimer's disease and if Obstructive Sleep Apnea influences this process among African-Americans when compared to Caucasians (hereafter referred to as 'whites'). African-Americans (AAs) have a higher risk of both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, when compared to whites. Sleep characteristics vary between AAs and whites. AAs take longer to fall asleep, have shorter sleep duration, lower sleep quality and less slow wave sleep (SWS) duration than whites. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is more common in AA's, increases AD risk, and is associated with markers of AD pathology even in persons with normal cognition. OSA may be a physiologic race-dependent biologic mechanism increasing AD-risk in AA's. Notably, AA's seem to have a higher degree of brain loss and less tau (i.e. brain loss marker) in the spinal fluid, for the same levels of amyloid (i.e. AD pathology marker). This may lead to possible AD underdiagnoses in AA's. This study will investigate this tau differences via neuroimaging and examine whether OSA influences this process.
A Single-Center Observational Longitudinal Study on the Effect of Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) Characteristics and Race and Ethnicity on Amyloid Burden (A Marker of Alzheimer s Disease Risk) among cognitively normal elderly
Sleep AWARE is a research study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institutes for Aging. We will examine how race, genes, and other factors influences an individual’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Poor sleep is thought to contribute to increased risk for developing AD. African Americans in particular have lower quality sleep and less sleep duration and thus may be at greater risk for AD. Researchers hope to compare sleep characteristics and their effects on Alzheimer’s disease risk among African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites. You may be eligible if you are between the ages of 60 and 75 and you identify as Non-Hispanic White or African American. If you are eligible, you will be asked to participate in four to six baseline visits, a one-year follow up, and four to six follow-up visits after two years. Your first and second visit will require a medical and medications history report, a clinical evaluation memory testing and blood draw Your third visit will be the remainder of your cognitive testing, blood work, and a sleep interview Your fourth visit will consist of a one night sleep study at Mount Sinai Integrative Sleep Center Your fifth visit will include a PET-MR scan You will be compensated for your participation in this study