Exploring Computerised Cognitive Training for People With Huntington's Disease

Summary

Cognitive impairments, especially deficits of executive function, have been well documented as a core and early feature in Huntington's disease (HD). Cognitive impairments can be considerably burdensome and devastating for people and families affected by HD. Computerised cognitive training interventions that focus on improving executive function present a potentially exciting non-pharmacological treatment option. Novel work conducted in mouse models of HD, has demonstrated that cognitive training, administered from an early stage in the disease, can improve motor performance at an older age, even in the absence of further training in the intervening time. This represents proof of principle in an animal model of HD that cognitive training can improve HD disease symptoms.

Improvements associated with executive function training have also been reported in a clinical setting in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. For example, cognitive training, can improve executive function as people age, and training specifically focused on tasks of executive function has been shown to improve both cognitive and motor outcomes in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, this study is a feasibility study which aims to establish proof of principle for using computerised cognitive training in people with HD. The investigators propose to determine the feasibility, acceptability and gather preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of a cognitive training intervention programme, targeted for people with HD. The investigators will also aim to investigate the most appropriate outcome measures to use in this study and gather feedback on the cognitive training intervention. The investigators will also establish proof of concept via the study of brain structure and function, using MRI scanning techniques.

The computerised cognitive training software and the associated outcome measures will be investigated, taking into account the views of people and families who are affected by HD. A randomised feasibility study of computerised cognitive training for people with HD will then be conducted. Participants who are randomised to the cognitive training intervention group will be asked to complete a cognitive training intervention utilising "HAPPYneuron" software. Participants in the intervention group will be asked to complete the cognitive training programme for a minimum of 30 minutes, 3 times a week for the 12 week study duration. Participants in the control group will not receive any cognitive training and will be asked to continue as normal, however they will have home visits to control for the confounding effect of social interaction. Additional monitoring and prompting for the intervention group, will be conducted via email, text or telephone reminders (as preferred by the participant) and home visits. The motor and cognitive function of participants will be assessed at the beginning and end of the study, using a range of motor and cognitive assessments. Additional cognitive measurements will be recorded as part of the HAPPYneuron programme throughout the cognitive training intervention, such as accuracy and response time measures of particular computer games. MRI scans (optional) will be conducted at the beginning and end of the study to identify any structural changes in the brain that may be associated with the cognitive training intervention. As part of the feasibility and acceptability assessment, participants, family members and carers will be invited to complete a semi-structured interview at the end of the study, if consent is obtained, focusing on using this type of software as a home based therapeutic intervention.

Conditions

• Huntington's Disease

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Computerised cognitive training

Computerised cognitive training regime

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jacque and Gloria Gossweiler Foundation

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Health and Care Research Wales

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Cardiff University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-01-25

Primary Completion

2019-03-13

Completion

2019-03-13

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations