SMART MCI

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Strengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training (SMART) for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A feasibility trial

• IRAS ID

  311736

• Contact name

  Nima Moghaddam

• Contact email

  NMOGHADDAM@LINCOLN.AC.UK

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Lincoln

• ISRCTN Number

  ISRCTN29378862

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 11 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Severe decrements in cognitive functioning that are characteristic of neurodegenerative disease are typically preceded by a preclinical stage of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The cognitive deficits of MCI become highly burdensome to patients and detrimental to their quality of life – which MCI patients and companions identify as their highest priority outcome. There is therefore a need for treatments to address them.

  Aims
  1. Assess whether the SMART treatment is a good fit for people with MCI
  2. Assess whether we can do a large study to test whether SMART treatment improves thinking skills in people with MCI

  Methods
  Patients aged 18-69, identified and recruited through MCI-supportive services or the ‘Join Dementia Research’ register, will be invited to take part and sent study details. Those who fit the study will be asked to do some tests of thinking skills and fill in some forms about their problems with thinking, mood, and health. Patients will then be put into three groups by chance (20 in each group):
  Group 1: Receives online SMART treatment in addition to their usual care (often informational support). SMART treatment involves doing a series of puzzles. These puzzles are designed to train key skills that support thinking and new
  learning.
  Group 2: Receives usual care alone.
  Group 3: Receives a ‘control’ online treatment plus usual care. The control treatment is a puzzle activity (Sudoku). This allows us to compare SMART training to an activity that looks similar but is not designed to have the same
  benefits.
  Three and six months later, patients again complete the tests and forms that they did before treatment. Researchers and patient-partners (researchers who live with MCI) will also interview 30 patients about how they found the study and treatment received.

• REC name

  North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  22/NW/0335

• Date of REC Opinion

  22 Nov 2022

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion