Clinical Research Directory

Shedding Light on Dementia With Lewy Bodies: a Multimodal 'Bright Light Treatment' to Modulate Brain Functions

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) patients typically experience cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions that can be very distressing to both patients and caregivers, and extremely demanding for health care system. Despite these challenges and the relatively high prevalence of the disease, the evidence base for intervention strategies remains unclear. This project will aim to overcome this gap, showing for the first time in a DLB population, with a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), the feasibility and efficacy of a novel multimodal blue-enhanced Bright Light Treatment. Besides clinical outcomes, changes in melanopsin retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs) system will also be evaluated using a monochromatic light fMRI protocol. The results of this project will add valuable information to the current knowledge base of DLB for both scientific and clinical communities, helping clinicians in the prognosis and management of the disease, with the end goal of improving patients' quality of life.

VOCALE LBD: Online Peer Support for Caregivers of People With Lewy Body Dementia

This study tests whether a tailored, fully asynchronous online group intervention (VOCALE LBD) reduces depression in family caregivers of people with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), compared to standard educational materials. LBD is the second most common form of degenerative dementia and causes distinct challenges, including visual hallucinations, REM sleep disorder, and severe motor symptoms, that are not addressed by generic caregiver interventions. Depression rates in LBD caregivers reach 40-50%, double the rate seen in Alzheimer's disease caregivers, yet no rigorous digital interventions exist specifically for this population. VOCALE LBD is a text-based, low-bandwidth platform (Discourse) that brings groups of 10-15 caregivers together in an 8-week moderated online community. Weekly topics address LBD-specific challenges (sleep problems, hallucinations, self-care) and problem-solving skills using the ADAPT method. A pilot study (n=54) showed strong effects on depressive symptoms (Cohen's d=0.54 at 1-month follow-up), near-perfect engagement, and high participant satisfaction. This RCT (N=220) will test efficacy, examine mechanisms of action (self-efficacy and problem-solving), and explore analytics approaches for pragmatic monitoring, laying groundwork for future implementation in clinics and community organizations.

Diagnostic Evaluation of Dementia with Lewy Bodies Using a Multimodal Approach

Dementia with Lewy body disease (DLB) is the second leading cause of degenerative cognitive disorder after Alzheimer's disease (AD). Its variable clinical expression makes diagnosis difficult. To date, there is no validated DLB diagnostic biomarker, despite several biomarkers in development (EEG, MRI, biology). Studies have shown that an improvement in diagnostic performance could be obtained by combining different modalities biomarkers using machine learning. The aim of this research is to identify the best combination of multimodal biomarkers for the diagnosis of DLB (EEG, MRI, biology, cognitive scores), using a machine learning approach applied to a clinical cohort.