Discovering Solutions for Dementia Symptoms
Nurse scientists from the Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston are looking for families to participate in research about dementia symptoms.
Fast Facts
Patients with Dementia at UT Physician Clinic in Houston
Caregivers Who Live With Them
Compensation Provided
Conducted in Houston, TX
Study Background
Nurse scientists are looking for families to
participate in research about dementia symptoms.
People who have a diagnosis of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, display a variety of symptoms in the way they behave. For example, a person with dementia might repeat the same question over and over. In this research study, we want to investigate factors that might contribute to these behavioral symptoms, such as environmental factors (like unmet needs or stressors), personal factors (like genetics or gut bacteria), and disease factors (like infection or inflammation).
If you have a dementia diagnosis and are a current patient at a UT Physician clinic in Houston, or if you are the primary caregiver of someone who meets these criteria, you are invited to participate in this study. Each individual will be compensated for their time, and we can also provide your genetic testing results for Alzheimer’s disease.
Most study activities are done at home – only one visit to campus is needed. The study takes 1 month to complete.
Eventually, we hope that the findings of this study might be useful for improving at-home care for people with dementia.
Study Background
Nurse scientists are looking for families to participate in research about dementia symptoms.
People who have a diagnosis of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, display a variety of symptoms in the way they behave. For example, a person with dementia might repeat the same question over and over. In this research study, we want to investigate factors that might contribute to these behavioral symptoms, such as environmental factors (like unmet needs or stressors), personal factors (like genetics or gut bacteria), and disease factors (like infection or inflammation).
If you have a dementia diagnosis and are a current patient at a UT Physician clinic in Houston, or if you are the primary caregiver of someone who meets these criteria, you are invited to participate in this study. Each individual will be compensated for their time, and we can also provide your genetic testing results for Alzheimer’s disease.
Most study activities are done at home – only one visit to campus is needed. The study takes 1 month to complete.
Eventually, we hope that the findings of this study might be useful for improving at-home care for people with dementia.
Additional Information
The purpose of this research is to better understand when and why people living with dementia have behavioral symptoms such as repeating the same question over and over. We are exploring a variety of possible causes such as environmental triggers, genetic risk factors, inflammatory markers, and microbiome (our gut bacteria).
You may qualify for a study if you meet the following criteria.
Participant Criteria:
- Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia
- Have a primary caregiver and spend most of the day with them
- White or African American
- Currently a patient at a UT Physician clinic in Houston
- Live in the community (not a nursing home)
Caregiver Criteria:
- Primary caregiver of someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia
- Spend most of the day with the person with dementia
- Live with or share cooking facilities with the person with dementia
- Reliable access to a smartphone
- Can read and speak English
There are 6 study visits taking place over 1 month.
- Visit 1: enrollment and instructional visit
- Visit 2: The caregiver will be provided a baseline survey and the person with dementia will provide baseline specimens (blood, saliva, fecal)
- Visits 3-6: The person with dementia will provide specimens and the caregiver will complete 30 days of daily diaries
Each participant (both caregiver and person with dementia) can be compensated up to $270 for participating.
There is no cost for you to participate in our research study.