Sign up by: 30 April 2025
This is a 5-year study which aims to evaluate and characterize frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) patients and asymptomatic individuals belonging to family with a strong history of an FTLD syndrome and their caregivers. This study seeks to learn more about how FTLD syndromes progress over time and to develop new tools that can aid with diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of FTLD.
Key Details
Study Sponsor: Funding: NIH International Study on FTD
Location: In-person (Required at Toronto Western Hospital)
How Often: Yearly
Compensation: Yes (Participants will be compensated for their travel, time and parking.)
Contact: Daniela Mora-Fisher, Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
(416) 603-5914
Research Studies
Interested in participating in research studies? Scroll down to browse our current list.
Questionnaire
Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (ALLFTD)
Interview/Focus Group
A pilot study assessing the benefits of a dementia caregiver educational brochure on decreased empathy and emotion recognition in patients with neurodegenerative disease
Sign up by: 01 September 2025
Caregiving for people with dementia has become an issue of international importance. The focus of research in caregiver burden and distress in neurodegenerative disease has been on the patients' cognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Social cognition comprises many psychological processes that allows individuals to partake in social situations by enabling them to perceive and recognize the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours of others. There is growing awareness of social cognitive deficits occurring in the different neurodegenerative diseases. People with dementia may display increasing difficulties in understanding social cues or recognizing emotions and caregivers are generally unaware of these deficits. There is growing evidence that changes in emotion recognition can impact caregiver mood and be associated with caregiver burden.
This is a pilot project to assess the feasibility of educating dementia caregivers on emotion recognition deficits and decreased empathy in patients with dementia and the impact of education on caregiver burden, mood and quality of life. Seventy-five dementia caregiver-patient pairs will be recruited for this cross-sectional study. Caregivers' ability to detect emotion recognition deficits and empathy impairment in the patient will be assessed. Caregivers will be given a questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge of emotion recognition deficits and empathy impairment in the patient. Caregiver burden, mood, and quality of life will be assessed. The caregivers will then be given educational material on emotion recognition deficits and empathy impairment in dementia and then be asked to evaluate the information they have received. After 1 month, caregivers will be contacted to assess whether the information they received changed their understanding of emotion recognition deficits and empathy impairment and if it had an impact on caregiver burden, mood and quality of life.
Key Details
Study Sponsor: Toronto Western and General Hospitals
Location: In-person (Optional at Toronto Western Hospital) + Phone (Optional)
How Often: Yearly
Compensation: No
Contact: Daniela Mora-Fisher, Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
416-603-5914
Interview/Focus Group
Four Repeat Taupathy Neuroimaging Initiative
Sign up by: 01 September 2025
This study follows people with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) for up to 2 years and compares their brain changes with healthy volunteers of the same age. Researchers hope to learn more about how patients with PSP and CBD progress over time and which measures are best for tracking change and predicting progression. Various measures including brain imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, eye tracking, blood markers and neuropsychological testing will be measured.
Key Details
Study Sponsor: Mayo Clinic NIH
Location: In-person (Required at Toronto Western Hospital)
How Often: A few times a year + Yearly
Compensation: Yes (Participants will be compensated for their time and expenses)
Contact: Daniela Mora-Fisher, Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
416-603-5914
Drug
Escitalopram for Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease (S-citAD) Study at Ontario Shores
Sign up by: 25 November 2023
The main goal of the S-citAD study is to assess the safety and efficacy of escitalopram (a drug) in combination with psychosocial intervention as a treatment for agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease. It will also look at the predictors of relapse and response duration, in patients with Alzheimer's disease with agitation who improve with psychosocial intervention, as well as those who do not improve with psychosocial intervention. This 24-week trial (12 weeks treatment; 12 weeks follow-up) enrolls participants from real world settings such as outpatient and assisted living facilities.
Key Details
Study Sponsor: This study is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)/ Johns Hopkins University.
Currently Enrolling: Individuals living in Whitby and the surrounding areas including the greater Toronto area
Location: In-person (Required at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences*) + Phone (Optional) + Internet (Optional)
*The majority of the visits during this study will be completed via phone or video calls. However, participants will be required to come to Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences for 2 or 6 visits during the 15-week treatment period.
How Often: Monthly
Compensation: Yes (Participants will receive payment of $25 per visit*)
*This applies to the first two visits, as well as Week 3, Week 6, Week 9 and Week 12. For in-person visits, participants will receive payment at the end of the visit. For telephone/video contacts, participants will be emailed an electronic gift card/cheque by regular mail (Canada Post).
Contact: Elaina Niciforos, Lead Study Co-ordinator
905-430-4055 Ext. 6139
905-430-4055 Ext. 6423