Decreased Empathy and Emotion Recognition in Patients With Neurodegenerative Disease

University Health Network, Toronto

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Neuro-Degenerative Disease; Alzheimer Disease; Caregiver Burnout; Vascular Dementia; Parkinson Disease; Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration; Dementia

Treatments: Behavioral: Educational Brochure

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04635540

18-6350

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study evaluates an educational brochure tailored to caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease dementia, Lewy body disease, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular disease dementia. The goal of the brochure is educating caregivers about the decreased ability to detect emotion and decreased empathy that can be seen in dementia, increasing caregiver competence in providing care, and teaching caregivers ways to manage over time that lessens burden and improves quality of life.

Full description

The 1.5-hour initial visit will involve the caregiver completing questionnaires, structured interviews, and a computer task, and the person with dementia completing a computer task. A 20-30 minute follow-up phone call with the caregiver one month after the initial visit will involve completing questionnaires.

Enrollment: 75 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 30 to 95 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• All caregivers who visit the UHN Memory Clinic with a patient with a neurodegenerative disease will be asked to participate.
• The patient must be aged 50 to 95 (inclusive) and speak English
• The caregiver must be aged 30 to 95 (inclusive) and speak English.
• The patients must have a diagnosis of one of the following conditions: Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease/Dementia with Lewy Body, Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration-syndromes or Vascular Dementia.
• The patient must have a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) score of 10-25

Exclusion criteria

• Not English speaking.
• Patients who do not have a caregiver that would be able to participate in the study.
• Caregivers who do not have a patient being followed at the UHN Memory Clinic

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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75 participants in 1 patient group

Interventional Arm

Experimental group

Description:

The Interventional Arm will receive the educational brochure and complete the study tasks and questionnaires.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Educational Brochure