Effectiveness of Home-based Electronic Cognitive Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease

Summary

The current study will examine the use of a mobile electronic application used to deliver cognitive rehabilitation to patients with mild cognitive impairment due (MCI) due to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and patients with mild AD. Patients will be given a specific cognitive rehabilitation program on their mobile device (iPad) with specific tasks for them to complete. The goal of this study is to determine if a) patients are able to use and adhere to a cognitive rehabilitation program delivered to their mobile device and b) to determine if patients can improve their language, attention, and memory by completing cognitive rehabilitation tasks assigned to them.

Conditions

• Memory Disorders
• Mild Cognitive Impairment
• Alzheimer's Disease

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Intervention Group

The investigators are interested in how practicing memory tasks can improve memory in patients with MCI and with AD. Specifically, patients will perform a set of cognitive rehabilitation tasks designed to train memory in order to determine if these tasks are effective in improving memory or slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Patients will practice memory tasks for about an hour daily, for a total duration of 6 months. A research assistant or clinician will conduct weekly check-ins with each participant assess whether or not participants in the Intervention Group exhibit weekly improvements and to determine if patients are regularly adhering to the tasks.

BEHAVIORAL

Control Group

The Control Group will not receive any cognitive rehabilitation tasks for a six month period. Instead, they will simply be given booklets of puzzles (e.g., word search, number puzzles, etc.) to work on for the duration of 6 months. A research assistant or clinician will conduct weekly check-ins with each participant assess whether or not participants in the control group feel like they are benefiting from the puzzles. Participants in the Control Group will be given a standard battery of neuropsychological tests prior to the the puzzles and after the puzzles to assess any changes in memory, language, attention, and executive functioning.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Wallace H. Coulter Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Boston University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Andrew E Budson, MD · Boston University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Max Age

90 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-09-30

Primary Completion

2020-06-30

Completion

2020-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations