Current Research Studies in New York City:

1. Attitudes on Aging and Personal Plans for Aging in Adult Child Caregivers
2. Does Writing Promote Health?
3. NYU Studies Of Individuals with a Family History of Alzheimer's Disease 
4. The Concert Study - Dimebon Research
   

A free service that makes it easy for people with Alzheimer's, caregivers, families and physicians to locate clinical trials based on personal criteria (diagnosis, stage of disease) and location. Learn more

For information about Clinical Trials at Columbia University, NYU School of Medicine, or Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, please click here.

Attitudes on Aging and Personal Plans for Aging in Adult Child Caregivers

Principal Investigator: Dr. Emily Finkelstein, 1484 First Avenue, New York, NY 10075 | 212-746-7000
Institution: New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center

You are invited to consider participating in a research study. The study is called Attitudes on Aging and Personal Plans for Aging in Adult Child Caregivers. The purpose of this study is to learn more about how caring for an aging person affects your attitudes, expectations and plans for aging. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because 1) you are or have been an adult child caregiver, or a health care provider who cares for aging patients, and 2) you are a baby boomer (i.e. born between the years 1946 and 1964.) Please take your time to make your decision. It is important that you read and understand several general principles that apply to all who take part in our studies:

(a) Taking part in the study is entirely voluntary.
(b) Personal benefit to you may or may not result from taking part in the study, but knowledge gained from your participation may benefit others;
(c) You may decide not to participate in the study or you may decide to stop participating in the study at any time without loss of any benefits to which you are entitled. The purpose and nature of the study, possible benefits, risks, and discomforts, other options, your rights as a participant, and other information about the study are discussed below. Any new information discovered which might affect your decision to participate or remain in the study will be provided to you. You are urged to ask any questions you have about this study with members of the research team. You should take whatever time you need to discuss the study with your physician and family. The decision to participate or not to participate is yours. If you decide to participate, please sign and date where indicated at the end of this form.

Does Writing Promote Health?

Are you the caregiver for a loved one who has Alzheimer’s Disease or other type of dementia?

If so, you are invited to participate in a University of Iowa web-based research study that will examine the effects writing may have on your health and the level of acceptance of the Web-based writing intervention to manage stress related to caregiving experiences.

You will be asked to write about your thoughts and feelings regarding caring for a family member or regarding activities related to care for one’s self for only 20 minutes on three separate days. There is no need to be a "good writer" or worry about spelling, grammar, or sentence structure. As a means to measure the effect of the writing on reducing stress, you will also be asked to compete 5 questionnaires that are all on the website .

Participants will be offered compensation.

If you would like more information and/or are interested in participating use the link below to view the study’s website at:
http://swee.its.uiowa.edu/swee

If you would like to speak with someone personally, you may email or call Ji Woon Ko using the contact information below:
Ji Woon Ko, RN; MSN
jiwoon-ko@uiowa.edu
Principal Investigator
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
319-594-0502

 

NYU Studies Of Individuals with a Family History of Alzheimer's Disease

To examine 1st degree relatives of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, who may themselves be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The major risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease is having a 1st degree relative with the disease. Children of parents affected with AD are at very high risk for developing AD as compared to individuals without a family history of AD. The reasons for the increased risk are not known. This project involves identification of biological mechanisms involved in maternally, and paternally, transmitted risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Results will provide new information on the genetic factors associated with late-onset Alzheimer’s, and possibly help refine models used to assess risk for Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with predisposition.   

Specifically, we will be studying brain activity, as reflected in brain glucose utilization, in healthy persons with a 1st degree family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Glucose is a sugar that is utilized by the brain for energy. Low sugar utilization reflects low brain activity.  Using positron emission tomography (PET) scans to image brain function, in 2007 we discovered that brain activity is reduced in healthy persons whose mother had Alzheimer’s disease, as compared to those whose father or other 1st degree relatives had the disease. These deficits were observed in the same regions of the brain that are typically affected in Alzheimer’s patients.

The goal of our study is to explore the impact of having a maternal and/or paternal family history of Alzheimer's disease on brain activity (i.e., glucose metabolism) in young adults. While we previously worked with individuals older than 50 yrs, we are now focusing in younger adults, of age between 20-50 yrs.

Brain glucose metabolism will be measured using brain PET imaging and a tracer called Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which is used to measure glucose utilization in brain.
This research team will examine whether 20-50 year old individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s show reduced brain glucose metabolism compared to a group of individuals with no family history of AD. A secondary objective is to examine whether reductions in brain activity are more severe in those individuals with a multigenerational history of Alzheimer’s as compared to those who do not. We are particularly interested in working with individuals with the mother and the maternal grandmother affected with Alzheimer’s, and with individuals with the father and the paternal grandfather affected with Alzheimer’s.
Specific Goals:

• To examine whether having an AD-affected parent (mother or father, or both) predisposes children to brain metabolic impairment.
• To understand whether individuals with an AD-affected mother are at higher risk as compared to individuals with an AD-father, and to individuals with no parents affected.
• To understand whether individuals with a multigenerational family history of Alzheimer’s (i.e., parents and grandparents with Alzheimer’s) are at higher risk as compared to individuals with unigenerational family history (i.e., only parents affected with Alzheimer’s).

Should you be interested in learning more about the study, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our study coordinator, John Murray, BA, can be reached at 212 263 7795, or by email: John.Murray@nyumc.org

 
 

Working in Concert to Advance Medical Science

What is the Concert Study?

The Concert Study is a Phase 3 clinical research study of 1050 patients to test the effects of Dimebon in patients with Alzheimer's disease who are currently taking Aricept® (also known as donepezil HCl tablets). The purpose of the Concert Study is to determine whether Dimebon combined with Aricept safely improves cognition (thinking and awareness), memory, daily functioning, behavior, and the ability to care for oneself.

What is Dimebon?

Dimebon is an oral medication that is being tested as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Join the Concert Study