Alzheimer's Disease clinical trials at UCSF
23 in progress, 11 open to eligible people
Alzheimer's disease is a condition that affects memory and thinking abilities. UCSF is conducting many clinical trials, including evaluating the use of technology for caregivers, testing a possible treatment called Aducanumab, and studying the effects of sleep on cognitive decline. Other trials focus on imaging and identifying individuals at risk for Alzheimer's.
A Study to Verify the Clinical Benefit of Aducanumab in Participants With Early Alzheimer's Disease
open to eligible people ages 60-85
The primary objective of this study is to verify the clinical benefit of monthly doses of aducanumab in slowing cognitive and functional impairment as measured by changes in the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score as compared with placebo in participants with early Alzheimer's disease.
San Francisco, California and other locations
AHEAD 3-45 Study: A Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Treatment With Lecanemab in Participants With Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease and Elevated Amyloid and Also in Participants With Early Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease and Intermediate Amyloid
open to eligible people ages 55-80
The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether treatment with lecanemab is superior to placebo on change from baseline of the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite 5 (PACC5) at 216 weeks of treatment (A45 Trial) and to determine whether treatment with lecanemab is superior to placebo in reducing brain amyloid accumulation as measured by amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) at 216 weeks of treatment (A3 Trial).
San Francisco, California and other locations
First-in-human Evaluation of EAAT2 PET Tracer in Healthy and Alzheimer's Diseased Brain
open to eligible people ages 40-75
This is a first in human study that will assess the safety and diagnostic performance of [18F]RP-115 (fluorine-18 labeled RP115), a positron emission tomography (PET) agent. This agent has the potential to identify the early changes that occur in the brains of patients with Alzheimer disease.
San Francisco, California
In-Home Technology for Caregivers of People With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Rural Homes
open to eligible people ages 18 years and up
This study aims to develop, evaluate, and commercialize an in-home supportive technology that is designed to alleviate anxiety, burden, and loneliness in spousal and familial caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, or mild cognitive impairment in rural homes.
Berkeley, California
In-Home Technology for Caregivers of People With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Spanish Language Homes
open to eligible people ages 18 years and up
This study aims to develop, evaluate, and commercialize an in-home supportive technology that is designed to alleviate anxiety, burden, and loneliness in spousal and familial caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, or mild cognitive impairment in Spanish language homes.
Berkeley, California
In-Home Technology for Caregivers of People With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Wearables
open to eligible people ages 18 years and up
This study aims to develop, evaluate, and commercialize an in-home supportive technology that is designed to alleviate anxiety, burden, and loneliness in spousal and familial caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, or mild cognitive impairment by integrating wearable devices (e.g., Apple Watches).
Berkeley, California
Napping, Sleep, Cognitive Decline and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
open to eligible people ages 65 years and up
This study aimed to pilot test a non-pharmacological (behavioral) treatment program targeting improved cognition through improving 24-h sleep-wake cycle in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild Alzheimer's disease. A treatment program incorporating bright light therapy and a modified cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia will be developed to address 24-hour patterns of sleep. We will then pilot test its feasibility and explore its preliminary effects on improving sleep/napping and cognition in patients with MCI or mild Alzheimer's disease.
San Francisco, California
The Care Ecosystem Consortium Effectiveness Study
open to eligible people ages 18 years and up
The Care Ecosystem is an accessible, remotely delivered team-based dementia care model, designed to add value for patients, providers and payers in complex organizational and reimbursement structures. Care is delivered via the phone and web by unlicensed Care Team Navigators, who are trained and supervised by a team of dementia specialists with nursing, social work, and pharmacy expertise. The evidence base to date suggests that the Care Ecosystem improves outcomes important to people with dementia, caregivers, and payers when delivered in a controlled research environment, including reduced emergency department visits, higher quality of life for patients, lower caregiver depression, and reduced potentially inappropriate medication use (Possin et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2022). The investigators propose a rapid pragmatic trial in 6 health systems currently offering the Care Ecosystem program in geographically and culturally diverse populations. The investigators will leverage technology, delivering care via the phone and web and using electronic health records to monitor quality improvements and evaluate outcomes while maximizing external validity. The investigators will evaluate the effectiveness of the Care Ecosystem on outcomes important to patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and health systems during the pandemic. By evaluating the real-world effectiveness in diverse health systems that are already providing this model of care, this project will bridge the science-practice gap in dementia care during an unprecedented time of heightened strain on family caregivers, healthcare providers and health systems.
San Francisco, California and other locations
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 3 (ADNI3) Protocol
open to eligible people ages 55-90
Since its launch in 2004, the overarching aim of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) has been realized in informing the design of therapeutic trials in AD. ADNI3 continues the previously funded ADNI-1, ADNI-GO, and ADNI-2 studies that have been combined public/private collaborations between academia and industry to determine the relationships between the clinical, cognitive, imaging, genetic and biochemical biomarker characteristics of the entire spectrum of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The overall goal of the study is to continue to discover, optimize, standardize, and validate clinical trial measures and biomarkers used in AD research.
San Francisco, California and other locations
Living Alone in Old Age With Cognitive Impairment
open to eligible people ages 55 years and up
The purpose of this study is to better understand the experience of living alone in older age with cognitive impairment. We recruit adults 55+ living alone with cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment. This study investigates the priorities and concerns of older adults living alone with cognitive impairment. Participants are interviewed 5 times for one hour in their homes within 3 months at a time that works for them.
San Francisco, California
Longitudinal Early-onset Alzheimer's Disease Study Protocol
open to eligible people ages 40-64
The Longitudinal Early-onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (LEADS) is a non-randomized, natural history, non-treatment study designed to look at disease progression in individuals with early onset cognitive impairment. Clinical, cognitive, imaging, biomarker, and genetic characteristics will be assessed across three cohorts: (1) early onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD) participants, (2) early onset non-Alzheimer's Disease (EOnonAD) participants, and (3) cognitively normal (CN) control participants.
San Francisco, California and other locations
A Study of Donanemab (LY3002813) in Participants With Early Alzheimer's Disease (TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2)
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
The reason for this study is to see how safe and effective the study drug donanemab is in participants with early Alzheimer's disease. Additional participants will be enrolled to an addendum safety cohort. The participants will be administered open-label donanemab.
San Francisco, California and other locations
A Study to Confirm Safety and Efficacy of Lecanemab in Participants With Early Alzheimer's Disease
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
This study will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of lecanemab in participants with early Alzheimer's disease (EAD) by determining the superiority of lecanemab compared with placebo on the change from baseline in the Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) at 18 months of treatment in the Core Study. This study will also evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of lecanemab in participants with EAD in the Extension Phase and whether the long-term effects of lecanemab as measured by the CDR-SB at the end of the Core Study is maintained over time in the Extension Phase.
San Francisco, California and other locations
A Study to Evaluate Safety and Tolerability of Aducanumab in Participants With Alzheimer's Disease Who Had Previously Participated in the Aducanumab Studies 221AD103, 221AD301, 221AD302 and 221AD205
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
The primary objective is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of aducanumab over 100 weeks of treatment after a wash-out period imposed by discontinuation of feeder studies in participants who had previously received aducanumab (i.e. previously treated participants) or who had previously received placebo (i.e. treatment-naïve participants).
San Francisco, California and other locations
Can Lifestyle Changes Reverse Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
The objective of this study is to determine if comprehensive lifestyle changes may slow, stop, or reverse the progression of early-stage Alzheimer's disease.
Sausalito, California and other locations
Care Ecosystem: Navigating Patients and Families Through Stages of Care, Extension Trial
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
This is an extension trial of a prior trial (NCT02213458). Both persons with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers were enrolled as dyads. The purpose of this randomized clinical trial is to evaluate the benefits of a program that supports model care for PWD and their caregivers. Whereas the prior trial only delivered care and examined outcomes up to 12-months, this trial extends care and outcome measurement for 5 years or until death, and includes all dyads where the caregiver reported high caregiver burden (Zarit-12 greater than or equal to 17) at pre-randomization baseline for the original trial. Participants were recruited from California, Nebraska and Iowa. Participants determined to be eligible were consented and randomized into one of two groups. Two thirds of dyads were enrolled into Navigated Care that provided them with phone-based assistance in meeting important benchmarks in their care, for example completion of legal and financial planning and strategies for minimizing caregiver burden. One third of dyads were enrolled to a control group, entitled Survey of Care. Outcomes were unchanged from the original trial except for the addition of time to long term care placement and are detailed below.
Clinical Trial of Solanezumab for Older Individuals Who May be at Risk for Memory Loss
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
The purpose of this study is to test whether an investigational drug called solanezumab can slow the progression of memory problems associated with brain amyloid (protein that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer Disease [AD]).
San Francisco, California and other locations
Head-to-Head Harmonization of Tau Tracers in Alzheimer's Disease
Sorry, not currently recruiting here
The purpose of this study is to compare/harmonize cross-sectional and longitudinal tau tangle measurements obtained with the tau PET radiopharmaceuticals Flortaucipir and MK-6240 to elucidate the advantages and caveats of their use in clinical trials/practice and provide parameters to integrate their estimates.
San Francisco, California and other locations
Moving Together: An Online Group Movement Program for People Living With Memory Loss and Caregivers
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
To determine whether Moving Together improves quality of life in people with memory loss (PWML) and caregivers (CG) by performing a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) with a waitlist control group in 224 dyads.
San Francisco, California
REVERSE-Long COVID-19 With Baricitinib Pilot Study
Sorry, not yet accepting patients
This is a pilot study for REVERSE-LC, a phase 3 trial of baricitinib versus placebo in adults with neurocognitive impairment (a form of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias or ADRD) or cardiopulmonary symptoms due to Long COVID.
San Francisco, California and other locations
Rural Dementia Caregiver Project
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
These caregivers are a vulnerable group due to their physical isolation and well-documented rural disparities in health care access and quality. Many rural dementia caregivers experience serious health consequences due to caregiving responsibilities that can limit their ability to maintain their caregiving role. Thus, there is a pressing need for effective, scalable, and accessible programs to support rural dementia caregivers. Online programs offer a convenient and readily translatable option for program delivery because they can be accessed by caregivers in the home and at the convenience of the user. Building Better Caregivers is an online 6-week, interactive, small-group self-management, social support, and skills-building workshop developed for caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. The investigators will conduct a hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial that will enroll and randomize 640 rural dementia caregivers into two groups: the intervention (workshop) group and the attention control group. Caregivers will be recruited throughout the United States. Primary outcomes will be caregiver stress and depression symptoms. The investigators hypothesize that stress scores and depression symptoms will be significantly improved at 12 months in the intervention group versus control group. The investigators will also identify key strengths (facilitators) and weaknesses (barriers) of workshop implementation. The investigators will use the RE-AIM implementation framework and a mixed methods approach to identify implementation characteristics pertinent to both caregivers and rural community organizations. If the Building Better Caregivers workshop is proven to be effective, this research has the potential to open new research horizons, particularly on how to reach and effectively support isolated dementia caregivers in rural areas with an intervention that is scalable, even in low-resourced settings. If the workshop can achieve its goals with rural dementia caregivers, some of those most isolated, it would also be expected to be scalable in other low-resourced settings (e.g., in urban or suburban environments).
San Francisco, California
The Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS)
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
To assess effects of menopausal hormone therapy and normal aging on cognitive performance and imaging markers of brain structure in women approximately thirteen years after enrolling in the KEEPS trial. KEEPS participants were randomized to oral or transdermal estrogen treatments or placebo within three years of menopause. This is a follow up study of these women approximately thirteen years after randomization (9 years after study completion.) No treatments are given as part of this study; any current hormonal treatments are by choice and prescribed by the participant's personal physician.
San Francisco, California and other locations
Characterizing Cognitive Decline in Late Life Depression: The ADNI Depression Project
Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients
The purpose of this research study is to characterize the mechanisms contributing to cognitive impairment and accelerated cognitive decline in Late Life Depression (LLD). This is a non-randomized, observational, non-treatment study. One hundred and twenty (120) subjects who meet criteria for Major Depression or LLD will be enrolled for a period of 30 months. Data from an additional 300 non-depressed subjects will be used from ADNI studies for comparison. Depression history, symptom severity and health information will be collected at the initial psychiatric visit to determine eligibility. A 3 Tesla (3T) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and florbetapir (18F-AV-45) amyloid imaging will be conducted at the ADNI clinic site visits. Collection of plasma and serum for biomarkers, clinical assessments and cognitive assessments will be conducted at two time points. Blood samples will also be collected for genetic analysis.
San Francisco, California and other locations
Our lead scientists for Alzheimer's Disease research studies include Peter Ljubenkov, MD David Wilson, MD, PhD Yue Leng, PhD Marcelle Cedars Gil Rabinovici, MD Veronica Yank, MD Deborah Barnes, PhD, MPH Elena Portacolone, PhD MPH MBA Adam Boxer Lawren VandeVrede Katherine L Possin, PhD.
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