Actively Recruiting
Cognitive Vulnerability to Stress in Individuals at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Johns Hopkins University · Updated on 2026-01-29
240
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
313 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
Sponsors
J
Johns Hopkins University
Lead Sponsor
N
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Collaborating Sponsor
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about how genetics and the response to stress predicts cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer are: * Does the hormone response to acute stress predict the degree of cognitive impairment following acute stress? * Do genes associated with the risk for Alzheimer's disease influence the relationship between stress hormone response to stress and cognitive impairment following stress? * Do cognitive impairment following acute stress and genes associated with the risk for Alzheimer's disease predict cognitive decline and change in biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease 2 years later? Participants will have 3 in-person study visits. The first 2 will occur at baseline and the 3rd visit will occur 2 years later. During the visits, participants will provide blood and saliva samples, undergo a 10-minute social stress procedure, complete questionnaires, and take tests of memory and other thinking skills. Someone who knows the participant (a "study partner") will be asked questions about the participant's daily functioning at the first and 3rd study visits.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Cognitive Vulnerability to Stress in Individuals at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Age 60 and older
- Fluent English speaker
- Able to provide informed consent for study procedures
- Willing and able to return for 2-year follow-up visit
- Willing and able to provide an informant who can participate in the screening and 2-year study visits
- BMI greater than 17 and less than 30
- Meets clinical and cognitive criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using National Institute on Aging (NIA)/Alzheimer's Association 2011 criteria
- Cognitive concern reflecting a change in cognition reported by patient, informant, or clinician
- Objective evidence of impairment in one or more cognitive domains, typically including memory
- Preservation of independence in functional abilities
- Not demented
- Etiology of MCI consistent with Alzheimer's disease pathophysiological process
- For study partners: Age 21 or older
- Able to participate in an interview
- Willing and able to attend study visits
- Willing and able to return for 2-year follow-up visit
You will not qualify if you...
- Current smoker
- Current or past history of major psychiatric illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder
- Neurological disorder, including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease
- Current or past history of immune disorder, including multiple sclerosis
- Current or past history of drug dependence
- Treatment within the last six months with neuroleptics, sedative hypnotics, or glucocorticoids
- History of head injury with loss of consciousness for more than half an hour, stroke, or seizure
- General surgery within the last 3 months
- Sensory impairment (poor vision or hearing) significant enough to interfere with ability to provide valid cognitive test data
- For study partners: Unwilling to answer questions about the participant with MCI
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
C
Cynthia A Munro, PhD
CONTACT
N
Nicholas Bienko, MS
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NA
Model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Number of Arms
1
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