Daily Light and Sound Stimulation to Improve Brain Functions in Alzheimer's Disease

NCT04055376 | Active Not Recruiting FDA Device

• 1 other identifier: 1903763319
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 15
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In this trial, the safety and effect of daily exposure to light and sound stimulation on people with mild Alzheimer's Disease (AD) will be studied. COVID-19 Amendment: Due to the ongoing suspension of all in-person humans subject research across MIT in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all enrolled participants who have not completed their 6-month visit will have their visit postponed to 9 months with a follow up at 18 months. Subjects who have completed their 6-month visit will still be instructed to continue and return at Month 12 for an evaluation. OPTIONAL: If the subject would like to come in for an evaluation between Month 9 and 18, we will invite participants to come on Month 12 to complete cognitive testing and EEG.

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease; Alzheimer Dementia

Keywords

Alzheimer Disease; Cognitive Impairment; Non-invasive Sensory Stimulation; Light and Sound Stimulation; Gamma

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Feasibility of at-home light and sound stimulation: amount of time of device usage per day

  Feasibility of daily at-home light and sound stimulation will be assessed by keeping track of the amount of time the GENUS device is used per day. The device will automatically log the start and end times of the device usage. The log data will be collected and assessed at the interim analysis time points (Month 1, Month 3) and later time points (Month 6 or 9 and Month 12 or 18).

  Over 6 or 9 months (or over 12 or 18 months for subjects who choose to continue the daily device usage for 6 or 9 additional months)

• Safety of daily at-home light and sound stimulation: questionnaire

  Safety of daily at-home light and sound stimulation will be assessed by using a daily questionnaire that asks for any adverse effects of the stimulation. The daily questionnaires will be collected and assessed at the interim analysis time point (Month 1) and later time points (Month 6 or 9 and Month 12 or 18).

  Over 6 or 9 months (or over 12 or 18 months for subjects who choose to continue the daily device usage for 6 or 9 additional months)

Other Outcomes (15)

• Change in Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) score

  Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 6 , and either Month 7 or Month 12 and Month 13. COVID-19 Amendment:Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 9, and either Month 10 or Month 18 and Month 19.

• Change in Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score

  Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 6, and either Month 7 or Month 12 and Month 13. COVID-19 Amendment:Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 9, and either Month 10 or Month 18 and Month 19.

• Change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Test score

  Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 6, and either Month 7 or Month 12 and Month 13. COVID-19 Amendment:Baseline, Month 1, Month 3, Month 9, and either Month 10 or Month 18 and Month 19.

Study Arms (2)

Daily exposure to active stimulation

EXPERIMENTAL

Subjects in this arm will receive daily exposure to active stimulation

Device: GENUS device (Active Settings)

Daily exposure to control stimulation

SHAM COMPARATOR

Subjects in this arm will receive daily exposure to control stimulation

Device: GENUS device (Sham Settings)

Interventions

GENUS device (Active Settings) DEVICE

Participants in the experimental group will use the GENUS device configured to active settings for 60 minutes daily over 6 or 9 months. After 6 or 9 months, each participant will be given an option to continue the daily usage of the GENUS device configured to active settings for additional 6 or 9 months. Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants who have not yet reached the 6-month mark will have their 6 month visit postponed to 9 months.

Also known as: Gamma frequency stimulation, Light and sound stimulation

Daily exposure to active stimulation

GENUS device (Sham Settings) DEVICE

Participants in the control group will use the GENUS device configured to sham settings for 60 minutes daily over 6 or 9 months. After 6 or 9 months, each participant will be given an option to continue the daily usage of the GENUS device configured to active settings for additional 6 or 9 months. Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants who have not yet reached the 6-month mark will have their 6 month visit postponed to 9 months.

Also known as: Gamma frequency stimulation, Light and sound stimulation

Daily exposure to control stimulation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years - 100 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Subject is between the ages of 50 - 100.
• Subject must have mild Alzheimer's disease with a Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) score of 19 -26.
• Subject is willing to sign informed consent document.
• If subject is deemed to not have capacity to sign the informed consent, he/she will need a legally authorized representative to provide surrogate consent.
• Subjects whose primary residence is within 2 hours of Boston

You may not qualify if:

• Subjects who do not have healthcare.
• Subjects who are being treated with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists (eg. Memantine).
• Subjects on medications that lower seizure threshold such as wellbutrin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, etc.
• Subjects with history of seizure or epilepsy within the past 24 months.
• Subjects with clinically significant suicide risk and/or suicide attempt in the past 12 months.
• Subjects with behavioral problems such as aggression/agitation/impulsivity that might interfere with their ability to comply with protocol.
• Active treatment with one or more anti-epileptic agent.
• Subjects who have had a stroke within the past 24 months.
• Subjects diagnosed with migraine headache.
• Active treatment with one or more psychiatric agent (e.g. antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc).
• Subjects who have an active implantable medical device including but not limited to implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), deep brain stimulator (DBS), cardiac pacemaker, and/or sacral nerve stimulator.
• Subjects who have profound hearing or visual impairment.
• Subjects who have a life expectancy of less than 24 months.
• Subjects who are pregnant.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: lead

Study Sites (1)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, United States

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Iaccarino HF, Singer AC, Martorell AJ, Rudenko A, Gao F, Gillingham TZ, Mathys H, Seo J, Kritskiy O, Abdurrob F, Adaikkan C, Canter RG, Rueda R, Brown EN, Boyden ES, Tsai LH. Gamma frequency entrainment attenuates amyloid load and modifies microglia. Nature. 2016 Dec 7;540(7632):230-235. doi: 10.1038/nature20587.

  PMID: 27929004 BACKGROUND

• Martorell AJ, Paulson AL, Suk HJ, Abdurrob F, Drummond GT, Guan W, Young JZ, Kim DN, Kritskiy O, Barker SJ, Mangena V, Prince SM, Brown EN, Chung K, Boyden ES, Singer AC, Tsai LH. Multi-sensory Gamma Stimulation Ameliorates Alzheimer's-Associated Pathology and Improves Cognition. Cell. 2019 Apr 4;177(2):256-271.e22. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.02.014. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

  PMID: 30879788 BACKGROUND

• Adaikkan C, Middleton SJ, Marco A, Pao PC, Mathys H, Kim DN, Gao F, Young JZ, Suk HJ, Boyden ES, McHugh TJ, Tsai LH. Gamma Entrainment Binds Higher-Order Brain Regions and Offers Neuroprotection. Neuron. 2019 Jun 5;102(5):929-943.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.04.011. Epub 2019 May 7.

  PMID: 31076275 BACKGROUND

• Chan D, de Weck G, Jackson BL, Suk HJ, Milman NP, Kitchener E, Avalos VSF, Quay MJ, Aoki K, Ruiz E, Becker A, Zheng M, Philips R, Firenze R, Geigenmuller U, Hammerschlag B, Arnold S, Kivisakk P, Brickhouse M, Touroutoglou A, Brown EN, Boyden ES, Dickerson BC, Klerman EB, Tsai LH. Gamma sensory stimulation in mild Alzheimer's dementia: An open-label extension study. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Oct;21(10):e70792. doi: 10.1002/alz.70792.

  PMID: 41137616 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease; Cognitive Dysfunction

Interventions

Ultraviolet Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dementia; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders; Cognition Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Phototherapy; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Li-Huei Tsai, PhD

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Edward S Boyden, PhD

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Emery Brown, MD, PhD

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Diane Chan, MD, PhD

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of two study groups. Subjects in the first group will use the GENUS device with active settings for 6 or 9 months, and subjects in the second group will use the GENUS device with sham settings for 6 or 9 months. At the end of the 6 or 9 month period, all subjects will be given an option to continue the usage of the GENUS device for additional 6 or 9 months. For these additional 6 or 9 months, the device will be set to active settings for all subjects who choose to remain in the study. A 36-month compassionate use extension will be offered at the completion of all of the study visits.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 5, 2019
• First Posted: August 13, 2019
• Study Start: August 14, 2019
• Primary Completion: April 30, 2025
• Study Completion: April 30, 2025
• Last Updated: October 1, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)