Are Healthcare interventions Exacerbating Alzheimer's Disease? (AHEAD study)

The AHEAD study - Do patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia who undergo healthcare interventions including surgery and anaesthesia, suffer cognitive decline of an increased frequency or severity when compared to a comparable diagnostic group who do not undergo such interventions.

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12614000012673

Acronym

AHEAD

Enrollment

230

Registered

2014-01-06

Start date

2013-12-20

Completion date

2021-12-31

Last updated

2021-06-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This study aims to investigate if, following anaesthesia-related healthcare interventions, individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia will suffer cognitive decline at an increased frequency or severity, when compared with a comparable group who do not undergo such interventions. Participants will complete cognitive and memory testing at five time points - once prior to surgery, then 7 days, 3, 12 and 24 months following surgery. Participants in the control group who are not having surgery will complete tests at comparable time points.

Interventions

Observational study of persons with MCI or mild dementia who are undergoing healthcare interventions requiring surgery and anaesthesia. Study will follow up participants for two years following surgery.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

60 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Patients aged >=60 years 2. Mild Cognitive Impairement (MCI) or very-mild to mild dementia (CDR global 0.5 - 1.0) 3. Able to provide written informed consent 4. Live within a reasonable distance of St Vincent's Hospital (for home neuropsychological assessments) 5. No contraindication to neuropsychological testing (eg. language, significant depression, deaf or blind)

Exclusion criteria

1. Pre-existing neurological or clinically evident neurovascular disease (eg. stroke) 2. Severe dementia (CDR>=2) 3. Dementia known to be due to causes other than AD. 4. Non-english speaker; deafness, blindness 5. Medical co-morbidity that may lead to complications and loss to follow-up

Outcome results