Clinical trial NCT01736124: Computerized Cognitive Training for Diabetic Elderly Veterans
Official title: Computerized Cognitive Training to Improve Cognition in Diabetic Elderly Veterans
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Keywords: computerize cognitive training
dementia
cognitive decline
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
First posted: 2012-11-29
Enrollment: 199
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 55
Maximum age (years): 99
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Computerized cognitive training (CCT) is an intervention has improved cognitive functioning in the elderly with and without cognitive impairment. The investigators will study the effect of a CCT program over an active control, "classic" computerized games. The outcomes will be memory and executive functions/attention, diabetes elf-management and adherence to medications, and glycemic and blood pressure control. Non-demented elderly Veterans with diabetes mellitus, who are at high risk for cognitive impairment, will be from the James J. Peters, Bronx, NY and Ann Arbor, MI VAMCs. This novel potential service fits the portfolio of the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative for Diabetes Mellitus (QUERI-DM) for which the Ann Arbor VAMC is a primary center. If successful, the VA National Center for Prevention and MyHeatheVet will collaborate in disseminating results to encourage implementation throughout the VA

Detailed description: Project Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has consistently been associated with increased risk for cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia in the elderly. Even minor cognitive impairments in nondemented individuals dramatically affect disease self-management. This, in turn, is associated with poor glycemic and blood pressure control in diabetes, which by themselves increase the risk of dementia, provoking a reinforcing cycle of disease. Thus, it is imperative to find interventions to delay or prevent cognitive compromise in diabetic patients, that can be relatively easily and rapidly implemented, and that are not cost prohibitive. This is especially true in the VA, in view of the high incidence of both diabetes and dementia in the growing population of elderly Veterans.

Epidemiologic evidence suggests modifiable life-style factors, including cognitive activity, may prevent or delay the onset of cognitive decline. Computerized cognitive training (CCT) is an intervention that has shown promising results in the improvement of cognitive functioning, more consistently in non-demented elderly, with additional benefits from booster training sessions. To date, studies of CCT have typically only examined cognitive outcomes, and only shortly after the intervention. The proposed CCT program, Personal Coach from Cognifit, is designed to improve cognition of elderly persons by targeting their weak cognitive functions, using a personally tailored training plan. The proposed study will provide the first evaluation of the effects of CCT on DM self-management behavior and clinical outcomes, in addition to cognition.

Project Objectives: Aim 1A: To determine whether the CCT, relative to the active control games program, improves cognition (memory and executive functions/attention), DM-related behavior (DM self-management and medication adherence), and clinical outcomes (glycemic and blood pressure control), 6 and 12 months after the intervention. Aim 1B: To demonstrate efficacy by improvement in behavioral outcomes (DM self-management and medication adherence) 6 months after the intervention. Aim 2: To document the effects of CCT on the successive changes in memory and executive functions/attention, DM self-management and medication adherence, and glycemic and blood pressure control. Aim 3: To explore the impact of demographic (age, education, ethnicity, site) and health (ADL/IADL, health literacy, depression, dementia family history, lifestyle factors) characteristics, on the intervention effects.

Project Methods: Non-demented DM elderly from the James J. Peters (Bronx, NY) and Ann Arbor (MI) VAMCs will be randomized to CCT or games intervention and perform the respective program 3 days per week (every other day), for 20 minutes, for 24 total sessions. Four months after the intervention, subjects will receive a 1-week booster training. Subjects will be assessed at baseline; and immediately, 6 months, and 12 months after the intervention. At each time point, assessments will be cognitive function, DM self-management, and blood pressure; blood will be drawn for HbA1c measurement. VA records will be used to monitor medication adherence. Longitudinal mixed model analyses will assess the effects of the intervention on change in outcomes over time. Path analyses will evaluate the inter-relationships among changes in cognition, DM self-management, and clinical outcomes for each intervention at 6 and 12 months.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 55 years old or above
* A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes
* Access to computer and internet
* Has an informant
* Self-management score 18 or below

Exclusion Criteria:

* Dementia or prescribed AD medications
* Major medical, psychiatric, or neurological conditions that affect cognitive performance
* Severe impairment of vision, hearing or fine motor control necessary for computer operation

Primary outcomes:
measure: Diabetes Self-management
timeFrame: 6 months after the intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Medication Adherence
timeFrame: 12 months post-intervention
measure: Memory
timeFrame: 6 month after the intervention
measure: Executive Function/Attention
timeFrame: 6 months after the intervention
measure: Hemoglobin A1c
timeFrame: 6 months after the intervention
measure: Systolic Blood Pressure
timeFrame: 6 months after the intervention
measure: Diastolic Blood Pressure
timeFrame: assessed 6 months after intervention
measure: Prospective Memory
timeFrame: 6 months after the intervention
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Bronx
country: United States
facility: James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY
state: New York
Study officials:
affiliation: James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center
name: Jeremy Silverman, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Karran M, Guerrero-Berroa E, Schmeidler J, Lee PG, Alexander N, Nabozny M, West RK, Beeri MS, Sano M, Silverman JM. Recruitment of Older Veterans with Diabetes Risk for Alzheimer's Disease for a Randomized Clinical Trial of Computerized Cognitive Training. J Alzheimers Dis. 2019;69(2):401-411. doi: 10.3233/JAD-180952.
citation: Silverman JM, Schmeidler J, Lee PG, Alexander NB, Beeri MS, Guerrero-Berroa E, West RK, Sano M, Nabozny M, Rodriguez Alvarez C. Associations of hemoglobin A1c with cognition reduced for long diabetes duration. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2019 Dec 11;5:926-932. doi: 10.1016/j.trci.2019.11.009. eCollection 2019.