Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet in Stroke Patients Patients

April 16, 2026 updated by: Neelum T. Aggarwal, MD, Rush University Medical Center

MIND Diet and Dementia Prevention in Ischemic Stroke Patients

To test the effects of a 2- to 3-year intervention of the MIND diet versus usual post-stroke care on cognitive decline, the characteristic feature of dementia, and on brain biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and vascular disease in a Phase Ill randomized controlled trial of 250 patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke, aged 55 years or older, and without dementia who are discharged home following hospitalization.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The Mediterranean-DASH diet intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND in Stroke patients is designed to test the effects of a 2-3 year intervention of a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets, called MIND on 250 older patients, without dementia who are hospitalized for acute stroke who are discharged home following hospitalization. The MIND diet has the same basic components of the DASH and Mediterranean diets, such as emphasis on natural plant based foods and limited animal and high saturated fat foods, but uniquely specifies green leafy vegetable and berries as well as food component servings that reflect the nutrition dementia evidence. In this study we will test the effects of a 2- to 3-year intervention of the MIND diet (3 months of delivered meals followed by dietary and general stroke health counseling) versus usual post-stroke care (3 months delivered self-selected meals followed by general stroke health counseling) on change on cognitive outcomes over 24 to 36 months. Biological effects of the MIND diet will be assessed by measurement of brain macro and microstructural integrity in all trial participants. Other biochemical markers will be assessed in the entire group of 250 participants including: plasma Abeta42/beta40, brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and plasma markers of oxidative stress and inflammation. The trial will examine potential effect mediators and modifiers by a number of cardiovascular risk factors, AD biomarkers and biological mechanisms. The proposed study has 3 recruitment sites, Rush University Medical Center, University of Chicago, and Advocate Christ Hospital all located in Chicago.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
250

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
        • Rush University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

55 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

  • Inclusion Criteria
  • Men and women, 55 years of age - inclusive- or older
  • Acute stroke as defined by an acute focal neurological deficit in combination with one of the following: acute ischemic infarct (stroke) as documented by either a DWl positive lesion on MR imaging or a new lesion on a delayed CT scan
  • Written informed consent by patient prior to study participation
  • Willingness to complete all assessments and participate in follow-up
  • Willing to participate and give informed consent
  • Adequate Visual and auditory acuity to undergo neuropsychological testing
  • Exclusion criteria
  • CDR>=0.5
  • Nuts, berries, olive oil, or fish allergies
  • Use of medications to treat Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease
  • Aphasia
  • Conditions of psychosis or bipolar disorder judged by study investigators to potentially interfere with study compliance over 3 years
  • Report of alcohol or substance abuse within six months, or heavy alcohol consumption (>2 drinks/d women; >3 drinks/d men)
  • Unstable or recent onset of cardiovascular disease, such as myocardial infarction within six months or presence of congestive heart failure (Stages II-IV)
  • Cancer treatment <= 5 years except non-melanoma skin cancer , basal cell skin cancer (this criterion may be waived at the site PI's discretion)
  • Illness that might be associated with weight change, such as a history of stomach or gastrointestinal conditions (Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Crohn's Disease, malabsorption, colostomy, bowel resection, gastric bypass surgery, etc.)
  • History of liver disease, HIV or Hepatitis C
  • An intracerebral hemorrhage as documented on CT or MRI
  • Pre- hospitalization diagnosis of dementia or mild cognitive impairment
  • Patients presenting one of the following diseases: cerebral venous thrombosis, traumatic cerebral hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage because of a known or image-guided assumed vascular malformation, pure meningeal or intraventricular hemorrhage
  • Patients presenting a malignant disease with life expectancy < 3 years
  • Residence in a nursing home and thus going back to nursing home upon discharge
  • Participation in an ongoing investigational drug study
  • Exception to these guidelines will be rare but may be considered on a case by case basis at the discretion of the PI's

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: MIND DIET intervention
Allocation and blinding 3 year intervention of MIND Diet + counseling
Other: Behavioral Dietary intervention ( MIND Diet)
The MIND diet is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets but with selected modifications based on the most compelling evidence in the diet dementia field. The MIND diet has the same basic components of the DASH and Mediterranean diets, such as emphasis on natural plant based foods and limited animal and high saturated fat foods, but uniquely specifies green leafy vegetables and berries as well as food component servings that reflect the nutrition dementia evidence.
Placebo Comparator: Usual care diet intervention
3 year Intervention of usual care diet + counseling
Other: Behavioral Usual Care Diet Intervention
The Usual Care diet is comprised of both westernized (e.g. Steak, Mac n Cheese) and healthy ( veggie chili) food components

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in global cognitive score
Time Frame: 3-years
3-year change in global cognitive score. The global cognitive score is a composite score, based on the average of z scores of the 19 individual tests scores, with a mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1. Higher scores reflect high global cognitive function.
3-years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in 5 individual cognitive domains
Time Frame: 3-years
Change in 5 individual domains that include executive functioning, perceptual speed, episodic memory, semantic and working memory. Each domain is made up of atleast 2 cognitive tests that are z scored and averaged for that domain. Higher scores on each domain reflects higher cognition in that domain.
3-years
Change in brain MRI derived markers of macro and micro structural integrity (cubic Centimeters), total brain volume, hippocampal volume and white matter hyperintensity volume ( cubic centimeters)
Time Frame: 3-years
130 participants total ( 65 in each treatment group)
3-years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Rush University Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Chicago
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Advocate Hospital System

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Neelum T Aggarwal, MD., Rush University Medical Center
  • Principal Investigator: Christy Tangney, PhD, Rush University Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 14, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 12, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 4, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 16, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 18052104-IRB01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Electronic data will be made available after trial completion

IPD Sharing Time Frame

6 months following publication of results

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Review & Approval by the Publications and Presentation Committee

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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