Sound waves to boost memory? new ultrasound study targets Alzheimer's fog
NCT ID NCT05997030
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early study tests whether low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) can safely stimulate brain areas in 15 people with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease. The main goal is to check for side effects and see if thinking and memory scores improve. Researchers will also use brain scans to look for changes in brain activity and connections.
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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 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2023
- Expected to finish
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Sep 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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45 to 85 years
- 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: * Males and non-pregnant females, aged 45-85 years * Able and willing to give informed consent * Must meet the clinical criteria for MCI due to Alzheimer's disease * If receiving concurrent treatment with an AChEI and/or memantine, has been on a stable dose for at least 45 days * Able to communicate sensations during the LIFU procedure Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to undergo MR-imaging because of implanted pacemakers, medication pumps, aneurysm clips, metallic prostheses (including metal pins and rods, heart valves or cochlear implants), shrapnel fragments, permanent make-up or small metal fragments in the eye that welders and other metal workers may have, or if candidates are uncomfortable in small spaces (have claustrophobia). * Participants with more than 30% of the skull area traversed by the sonication pathway are covered by scars, scalp disorders (e.g., eczema), atrophy of the scalp, or implanted objects in the skull or the brain. * Participants with a history of seizure disorder. * Participants with clinically significant chronic pulmonary disorders e.g., severe emphysema, pulmonary vasculitis, or other causes of reduced pulmonary vascular cross-sectional area. * Participant does not speak English * Participant is pregnant or planning to be pregnant
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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
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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Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University
RECRUITINGMorgantown, West Virginia, 26505, United States
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