Online CBT may slow memory loss in depressed ICU seniors
NCT ID NCT06627894
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce depression and slow cognitive decline in older adults who survived an ICU stay. About 300 participants aged 50+ with depressive symptoms will receive either online CBT or standard depression education. The goal is to see if treating depression can help protect memory and thinking skills.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (Good Days Ahead)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a practical, home-based treatment to improve mood and potentially slow memory decline in older adults after a serious illness.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial testing a behavioral intervention, not a drug. The effect on cognitive decline is uncertain, and results may not apply to all ICU survivors.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 300 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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50 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria 1. 50 years of age and older 2. Admitted to the intensive care for greater \> 48 hours 3. Able to understand and provide informed consent 4. Elevated depressive symptoms, defined as Screening PHQ-9 or PHQ-8 ≥ 10 or Screening PHQ-9 or PHQ-8 = 5-9 with the presence a core symptom of anhedonia (PHQ-9 or PHQ-8 Item 1) or depressed mood (PHQ-9 or PHQ-8 Item 2) 5. Willing to participate in cognitive testing 6. Access to a telephone 7. Discharge to home or an independent or assisted living facility 8. Response is a 1,2, or 3 on PHQ-9 or PHQ-8 item 7, answered yes to "Have you experienced a change in your memory or other aspect of thinking in the past 1 to 3 years?", or score in the 25% percentile or lower on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) based on normative data which account for age, gender, race, ethnicity and education. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of dementia or neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia as per EHR and IQCODE, or Parkinson's disease) or on anti-dementia medications prior to ICU stay 2. Diagnosis of severe mental illness (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective) as per EHR and screening questions 3. Persistent psychotic symptoms after ICU stay which would interfere with successful completion of intervention 4. Recent or recurrent alcohol or substance use disorder as per HER and Drug Abuse Screening Test 5. Life expectancy less than 1 year (e.g. terminal cancer diagnosis, discharged on hospice) 6. Ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, traumatic brain injury, or undergoing neurosurgery prior, during or after ICU stay 7. Uncorrected visual or auditory impairment including legal blindness or deaf 8. Status post tracheostomy and not able to communicate 9. Incarcerated or on parole after ICU stay
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Eskenazi Hospital
RECRUITINGIndianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
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IU Health Methodist Hospital
RECRUITINGIndianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
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