Mild Cognitive Impairment clinical trials at UCSD

This is a first-in-human clinical trial to test whether a protein administered into the brain continuously by gene therapy, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), will slow or prevent cell loss in the brains of people affected by Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment. The protein may also activate cells in the brain that have not yet deteriorated. Gene therapy refers to the use of a harmless virus to have brain cells make the potentially protective protein, BDNF.

The number of older Veterans with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) seeking care within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system is increasing and is expected to increase more rapidly as Vietnam era Veterans age. The cognitive effects of MCI and subsequent neurodegenerative disorders can adversely affect a Veteran's ability to function independently and failure to provide appropriate intervention can result in an increased need for healthcare services and VA benefits in the future. The VA currently spends over $19,000 annually per patient to care for Veterans with dementia (Zhu et al., 2009), and delaying the onset of dementia even by one to two years will result in substantial financial savings to the VA and quality of life gains for the Veteran. Since present pharmacological interventions have demonstrated limited efficacy, alternative treatments are needed. Therefore, an evidence-based cognitive training intervention that optimally addresses the needs of older Veterans with MCI is of critical importance to the VA patient care mission.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been identified as an early phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder expected to affect 13.9 million Americans by 2060. AD causes a progressive cognitive decline, including problems related to learning and memory, that adversely affects life quality. Treatment intervention at the MCI stage of the disease could potentially slow down the rate at which people may convert from MCI to AD. Increasing evidence suggests that abnormal activity in frontal regions of the brain is associated with cognitive deficits observed in AD. Furthermore, previous research has shown that neurofeedback (NFB) training targeting these regions can improve memory, making it a potential treatment for AD. NFB is a technique where an individual learns to change his/her brain function in a particular direction, once that function has been made accessible through a visual or auditory metaphor. We are proposing a novel, computer-based brain-training program to enhance frontal gamma oscillatory activity in individuals with MCI. Results from this study will build the scientific foundation necessary for larger clinical trials dedicated to improving treatment options and outcomes for patients with MCI.