Sleep Aging and Risk for Alzheimer's 2.0 (SARA)

March 24, 2026 updated by: NYU Langone Health

Sleep Aging and Risk for Alzheimer's Resubmission 2.0

Age-related sleep changes and common sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may increase amyloid burden and represent risk factors for cognitive decline in the elderly. We will directly interrogate the brain using a 2-night nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG) and amyloid deposition using C-PiB PET/MR both at baseline and at the 24-month follow-up. This study has the potential to identify the mechanisms by which age-related sleep changes contribute to AD neurodegeneration in cognitively normal elderly, the group that could profit the most from sleep preventive strategies.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

158

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • Healthy Brain Aging and Sleep 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

Ages Eligible for Study

55 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

112 subjects with normal sleep breathing (non-OSA) or mild to moderate OSA (AHI4%<30).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Male and female subjects with normal cognition and 55-75 years.
  • Within normal limits on neurological and psychiatric examinations. All subjects enrolled will have a CDR=0.
  • All subjects will have had a minimum of 12 years of education. Among minority subjects >80% of the elderly individuals coming to the NYU-ADC meet this criterion. The education restriction reduces performance variance on cognitive test measures and improves the sensitivity for detecting pathology and disease progression using the robust norms available at NYU. Given most subjects will meet this criterion we do not consider this a major selection bias or generalization limitation for this study.
  • An informed family member or life-partner (preferably bed-partner) will be interviewed to confirm the reliability of the subject interview.

Exclusion Criteria:

An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:

  • History of brain tumor, MRI evidence of brain damage or brain disease including significant trauma, hydrocephalus, seizures, mental retardation or other serious neurological disorder (e.g. Parkinson's disease or other movement disorders).
  • Significant history of alcoholism or drug abuse.
  • History of psychiatric illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar, PTSD, or life-long history of major depression).
  • Geriatric Depression Scale (short form)>6.
  • Insulin dependent diabetes.
  • Evidence of clinically relevant cardiac, pulmonary, endocrine or hematological conditions.
  • Physical impairment of such severity as to adversely affect the validity of psychological testing.
  • Any prosthetic devices (e.g., pacemaker or surgical clips) that constitutes a hazard for MRI imaging.
  • Medications affecting cognition: Narcotic analgesics, chronic use of medications with anticholinergic activity, anti-Parkinsonian medications (carbidopa/levodopa, amantadine, bromocriptine, selegiline). Others: amphetamines, amphetamine-like compounds, appetite suppressants, phenothiazines, reserpine, buspirone, clonidine, disulfiram, guanethidine, MAO inhibitors, theophylline, tricyclic antidepressants, salicylates, cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine.
  • History of a first-degree family member with early onset (age <60 years) dementia.
  • Irregular sleep-wake rhythms (based on the actigraphy recordings) or severe OSA (AHI4%≥30).
  • Chronic use of antidepressants and melatonin are allowed.
  • Excessive daytimes sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale >10) or history of CVE (arrhythmias, heart valve disease, cardiomyopathy, carotid or coronary artery disease and chest pain) will not be allowed in the OSA groups.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Sleep Apnea

Overall 56

  • both male and female
  • age group 55 to 75 years, having mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea
  • in good general health with no significant comorbidities
  • Located for the most part in boroughs of New York City
Diagnostic test: PET Scan and nocturnal polysomnography
Amyloid PET scans will be used to assess amyloid burden in the brain, and nocturnal polysomnography will be used to assess sleep and cardiopulmonary variables
No Sleep Apnea

Overall 56

  • both male and female
  • age group 55 to 75 years, without OSA
  • in good general health with no significant comorbidities
  • Located for the most part in boroughs of New York City
Diagnostic test: PET Scan and nocturnal polysomnography
Amyloid PET scans will be used to assess amyloid burden in the brain, and nocturnal polysomnography will be used to assess sleep and cardiopulmonary variables

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Establishing how mild-to-moderate OSA increases AD risk will inform novel preventive therapies for AD.
Time Frame: 2.5 years
2.5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Establishing that SWS quality is associated with longitudinal amyloid deposition will identify a key mechanism by which age increases AD risk.
Time Frame: 2.5 years
2.5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

NYU Langone Health

Collaborators

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ricardo Osorio, MD, New York Langone Medical Center

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)

May 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 25, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 25, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 7, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

September 11, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 17-01005
  • R01AG056031 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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