Revitalize Cognition: Near Infrared Stimulation in Older Adults

Revitalize Cognition: A Proof of Concept Study Using Transcranial Near Infrared Stimulation in Older Adults

Changes in mood and cognition are common in older adulthood. Some studies have suggested that transcranial application of near-infrared (NIR) light may have enhancing effects on cognitive and mood status in young adults and individuals with traumatic brain injury. This effect has not been examined in older adults. This study will involve a randomized sham-controlled trial to learn whether NIR stimulation improves cognition and mood in older adults, relative to sham treated controls.

Aim 4 of this study (Parkinson Specific) is registered separately under NCT06688357

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Aging
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: MedX 1116 Rehab Console; Device: Sham MedX 1116 Rehab Console

Detailed Description

There is a dearth of clinically meaningful treatment options at this point in time for individuals who are at increased risk for transitioning to dementia, particularly those with the amnestic variant of mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). While waiting for causative cures and preventive approaches, investigators are faced with the task of identifying modifying therapies that might alter the course or slow down the transition from normal cognition to MCI to dementia.

The proposed study hopes to contribute to this mission by testing the viability of a different type of intervention, one involving transcranial delivery of near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths (808-904nm). Near-infrared stimulation is safe, non-invasive and appears to improve mitochondrial function by promoting increased production of intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and possibly improved blood flow. Perhaps most compelling are recent findings of reduced beta-amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles in transgenic Alzheimer's mouse models after exposure to real vs sham transcranial NIR stimulation. Preliminary human involving traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, and young adult populations have also been promising in terms of positive effects of NIR on cognition.

The overall goal of the present study is to learn whether this unconventional NIR stimulation approach has potential for improving cognition in older adults. To do so, investigators will conduct a randomized sham controlled pilot trial. The intervention will involve six sessions, over a 2-week period in which real or sham stimulation is transcranially applied using a delivery system that has been FDA-approved as a nonsignificant risk since 2003. Researchers hope to learn whether NIR stimulation, relative to sham, has positive effects on cognition and mood in older adults.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 16
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32653
      • The Village Retirement Community
    • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32607
      • The Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 62 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 62 years or above
• Able to provide informed consent and perform cognitive and mood measures on a computer
• Willingness to be randomized to Sham or Real intervention
• Can devote 2 weeks to the intervention, and additional time for pre and post testing
• 8th grade education and ability to read on 8th grade level based on scores on the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) or the Wide Range Achievement Test-IV (WRAT-IV); or a reading test at 14 pt. text
• On stable doses of major medications; Since some older adults with memory complaints may be prescribed acetylcholinererase inhibitors or related medications by their primary care physicians (i.e., donepezil, rivastigmine, galantaominhe, memantime, or other potential memory-enhancing agent(s), we will not exclude them as long as they have been on stable medications for at least two months and plan to continue this medication during study participation.
• Willingness to allow a study partner (spouse, family member, friend) to answer questions about their cognitive, mood, and other behaviors

Exclusion criteria

• Sensory loss (vision, hearing) or motor deficits that would preclude participation in the experimental cognitive tasks or neuropsychological assessment
• Unstable and uncontrolled medical conditions (metabolic encephalopathy, HIV, moderate to severe kidney or liver disease)
• Previous major strokes or other known significant brain abnormalities or diseases affecting cognition (i.e., multiple sclerosis, seizure disorder, brain surgery, moderate TBI, etc.). No history of brain surgery. Exceptions are a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease for the PD subgroup.
• Evidence of potential dementia (e.g., scores < 24 on the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), or < 20 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessement (MoCA), or less than 5th percentile on the Dementia Rating Scale-2 (DRS-2)
• Current or past history of major psychiatric disturbance including schizophrenia, or active psychosis, bipolar disorder, current major depressive episode, current alcohol or substance abuse or history thereof within the past six months. This will be assessed using the Mental Health Screen v.3 (Carroll & McGinley), a modification of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV psychiatric disorders. We are not excluding individuals who are taking antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications, however, use of antidepressants and anxiolytics will be recorded and data will be analyzed in post-hoc analyses
• Use of antipsychotics, sedatives, or other medications with significant anticholinergic properties (due to potential influence on memory)
• Use of photo-sensitive medications such as steroids or retin-A within 15 days of the study intervention
• Diagnosis of cancer
• Previous participation in a cognitive training study within the last 3 months or current involvement in another study at VITAL or ReVITALIZE, or another study involving cognitive training or intervention at the time of participation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Older Adult Group NIR; Transcranial Near Infrared Stimulation for cognitively normal participants who will attend a total of 6 treatment sessions over a two week period. During each session, stimulation via light emitting diode clusters will occur for a total of 60 minutes. Four light emitting diode (LED) clusters will be applied in 3 distinct configurations. There will be 20 minutes of stimulation at each of these 3 configurations. Each configuration will target 4 sites, for a total of 12 sites over the course of the 60 minute session. The power density used will be 500 milliwatts (mW) with a cumulative fluence (energy density) of 312 Joules/cm2 (26 J/cm2 applied at 12 sites). It is estimated that approximately 6 Joules/cm2 will reach the cortex with each daily treatment.	Device: MedX 1116 Rehab Console; This intervention makes use of transcranially applied near infrared light using light emitting diodes. Near infrared light will be applied to the scalp for a period of 1 hour at each session. A total of six session will be held.; Other Names: Photobiomodulation; Low Level Light Therapy; Transcranial Near Infrared Stimulation
Sham Comparator: Older Adult Group - Sham; Cognitively Normal Participants in the sham control group will undergo identical procedures as the intervention group - screening, baseline testing, and LED cluster placement procedures. However, during the near infrared (NIR) session, the MedX console will not be turned on and no active stimulation will be applied.	Device: Sham MedX 1116 Rehab Console; This intervention makes use of sham transcranially applied near infrared light using light emitting diodes. Light emitting diodes (but not near-infrared light) will be applied to the scalp for a period of 1 hour at each session. A total of six session will be held.; Other Names: Placebo

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
NIH Examiner Battery, Executive Composite Changes From Baseline to Post-testing	Computer-based battery of executive functioning tests which yields a total or "composite" score to represent global executive functioning. Executive composite scores can range from -3.0 to 3.0, with higher scores corresponding to better executive functioning, and negative scores indicating impairment. A change score will be calculated by subtracting the baseline scores from the post-test scores.	Change in baseline to approximately week 3

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Composite Learning-Retention Score From ARENA Task	ARENA is a task of spatial memory and navigation that is a human analogue to the Morris water maze used in animal studies. Participants learn to navigate to a hidden target location relying on spatial cues in a simulated environment over a series of 8 learning trials and a final retention trial. The final ARENA outcome is an Overall Composite z-score combining learning and retention metrics as follows: [-Learning z-score + Retention z-score]/2. The learning z-score is based on two metrics (path length to target, time to reach target) that are converted to z-scores and averaged over the 8 learning trials. The retention z-score is based on percent time spent in the target quadrant during the retention trial. The Learning and Retention z-scores are combined to create a single final Arena Composite outcome. Higher composite scores reflect better memory performance. A change score is calculated by subtracting the Baseline Composite score from the post-test Composite Score	Change in baseline to approximately week 3
NIH Toolbox Emotion Psychological Wellbeing Scale Changes From Baseline to Post-testing	The Psychological Wellbeing Scale from the NIH Toolbox Emotion module Wellbeing Scale results in T-scores (mean=50, SD=10) for categories such as positive affect, life satisfaction, and meaning and purpose. Scores below 40 indicate low levels of wellbeing and scores above 60 indicating high levels of wellbeing. Change scores will be calculated by subtracting the baseline scores from the post-test scores.	Change in baseline to approximately week 3 (Post - Baseline)
NIH Toolbox Emotion Negative Affect Scale Changes From Baseline to Post-testing	The Negative Affect Scale from the NIH Toolbox Emotion module results in T-scores (mean=50, SD=10) for categories such as anger, sadness, and apathy. Scores below 40 indicate low levels of negative affect and scores above 60 indicate high levels of negative affect. Change scores will be calculated by subtracting the baseline scores from the post-test scores.	Change from baseline to approximately week 3 (Post Intervention - Baseline)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Florida
• Collaborators: Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer's Disease Research Program
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Dawn Bowers, Ph.D., University of Florida

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 18, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 17, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): November 17, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 16, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 19, 2015
• First Posted (Estimated): October 21, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 28, 2025
• Last Verified: January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Neuromodulation; Neurostimulation; Cognitive Aging; Low Level Light Therapy; Near Infrared Light
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB201400128; 6AZ15 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer's Disease Research Program); PF-IMP-1938 (Other Grant/Funding Number: PARKINSONS FOU)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No