Cognitive Vulnerability to Stress in Individuals at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Eligible age
60+ yrs
Accepts
All genders
Locations
1 state
Healthy volunteers
No
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About this study
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.
Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University
You may qualify if…
- ✓ Age 60 and older
- ✓ Fluent English speaker
- ✓ Able to provide informed consent for study procedures
- ✓ Willing and able to return for 2-year-followup visit
- ✓ Willing and able to provide an informant who can participate in the screening and 2-year study visits
- ✓ BMI \>17 and \<30
- ✓ Meets clinical and cognitive criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using National Institute on Aging (NIA)/Alzheimer's Association 2011 criteria (see below)
- ✓ Age 21 or older
You may not qualify if…
- ✕ 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 ½ hour, stroke, or seizure
- ✕ General surgery within the last 3 months
Where it's recruiting
Baltimore
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT05795634 · last updated 2026-01-29