Can a text message therapy ease dementia-related mood issues?
NCT ID NCT07332624
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This pilot study tests whether automated instant messages can help manage neuropsychiatric symptoms like depression and anxiety in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Forty adults aged 50 and older with MCI will receive an 8-week program of guided messages based on acceptance and commitment therapy. The goal is to see if this approach is feasible and can reduce symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- automated instant message-guided therapy (acceptance and commitment therapy)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a low-cost, accessible way to ease mood and behavioral symptoms in people with mild cognitive impairment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study (40 people) with no control group comparison yet. The intervention is delivered by automated messages, which may not be as effective as in-person therapy.
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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2026
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: * Community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 50 years; HK-MoCA score range from 18 to 25; MBI-C ≥7; Able to read and communicate in Chinese (Cantonese or Putonghua); Able to use the text or voice messaging function on a smartphone. Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of dementia; Diagnosis of psychiatric disease; Currently participating in any type of psychological or behavioural intervention for NPSs
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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
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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The University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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