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NCT Number: NCT04666077

Music Therapy Experiences in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD)

This study compares different music therapy (MT) experiences and their impact on memory and language in patients with Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

The 12-month study will assess the role of common experiences involving familiar music and other pleasant events (blinded control) to benefit cognition and measure the quality of life for people with Alzheimer's disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Following screening, all participants will meet with a licensed music therapist at the first study visit. Thereafter, each group will have an individualized schedule of follow-up telephone calls and visits.

Screening for the study and participation in the study intervention can be completed in-person or from your home, if you do not live in the area.

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Key information

Conditions

Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer Disease Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Brain Diseases Caregiver Burden Central Nervous System Diseases Cognition Disorders Cognitive Dysfunction Dementia Mental Disorders Mild Cognitive Impairment Nervous System Diseases Neurocognitive Disorders Neurodegenerative Diseases Stress, Psychological Tauopathies

Age range

55 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States

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About this study

Interested participants and their study partner will be enrolled after an evaluation to determine cognitive impairment or mild dementia. The evaluation, either in person or remote, will include cognitive testing, clinical and neurological evaluation, a review medical records and medical history and an examination as deemed necessary by a dementia physician. Eligible participants will undergo baseline testing including linguistic analyses and will be randomly assigned to one of 3 intervention groups. Participants and their study partners will be contacted at least once every three months for cognitive testing and medical review. Contact with the music therapy team will occur up to twice per week but not less than once per month, for the first six months study enrollment.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment
  • Must have study partner
  • English speaking
  • No verbal impairment
  • Community-dwelling
  • Must have webcam or smart phone

Exclusion criteria

  • A diagnosis of dementia other than probable or possible AD
  • Probable AD with Down syndrome
  • History of a clinically significant stroke with residual deficit
  • Current evidence or history in past two years of epilepsy, focal brain lesion, head injury
  • Current diagnosis for major psychiatric disorder including psychosis, major depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol or substance abuse.
  • Participation in another interventional study
  • Comorbidity causing disability interfering with intervention such as pain or discomfort or life expectancy less than 1 year

Treatment and study plan

Home-based MT through Supervised, Supported Singing (H3S)

Behavioral

Daily singing of "song of kin". The song of kin will be derived from an assessment session and evaluation inclusive of an interview under the supervision of Dr. Joanne Loewy and her team at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine (LACMM). The interview will include the participant and their study partner who will assist in identifying musical preferences and relevant cultural experiences. A recording of prescribed song protocols will be provided. Participants and study partners will be directed to plan a minimum of 1 hour a day in which the participant will sing along with the study partner-administered song of kin. A diary will be provided to the study partner to record the time of day, amount of time spent and comments on the activity. Study staff will contact the members of this group to confirm compliance with the activity.

Individualized Music Therapy (IMT)

Behavioral

The Individualized Music therapy (IMT) conducted by the LACMM staff. It will be administered by a certified music therapist twice weekly for 45 minutes. The sessions will employ extensive clinical improvisation based on the songs of kin utilized in the H3S condition. Compliance will be measured with a weekly log which will record dates and times of each condition.

Attention Control (AtCon)

Other

The attention control (AtCon) will meet with the LACMM team for an interview in which they will be asked about music preferences and music experiences. They will answer any questions from participant and caregiver about music experiences. Study staff will contact the members of this group at the same schedule as the H3S group to assess music activity engagement. This will measure unplanned exposure and minimize "drop-in" music activity which could contaminate the control condition.

Primary outcomes

  1. Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE)

    Time frame: 12 months

    Mini Mental Status Exam to assess cognition, behavior and function. Full score from 0-30, higher score indicates poorer health outcomes.

  2. Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)

    Time frame: 12 months

    Neuropsychiatric Inventory to assess cognition, behavior and function. The total NPI score is 0-144, higher score indicates poorer health outcomes.

  3. Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL)

    Time frame: 12 months

    The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) to assess cognition, behavior and function. The ADCS-ADL is a 23 item scale that includes 6 Basic ADL items and 17 Instrumental ADL items that provide a total score from 0-78, with a lower score indicating greater severity.

  4. Clinician's Global Impression of Change (ADCS-CGIC)

    Time frame: 12 months

    The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Clinician's Global Impression of Change. (ADCS-CGIC) to assess cognition, behavior and function. Full scale from 1-7, higher score indicates poorer health outcome.

Secondary outcomes

  1. The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog)

    Time frame: 12 months

    ADAS-Cog. to assess specific cognitive domains with composite scores of language, attention and executive function. The ADAS-Cog subscale is scored from 0-100. The full ADAS is scored from 0 to 150 by summing the number of errors made on each task so that higher scores indicate worse performance.

  2. Zarit Burden Interview

    Time frame: 12 months

    Zarit Burden Interview.to assess caregiver burden. 22-item instrument, full score from 0-88, higher score indicates feeling more burden.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Other

Registry information

Official study title

A Randomized, Blinded, Controlled Trial of Music Therapy Singing Interventions for Patients With MCI and AD

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Dec 14, 2020
Registry last updated
Dec 17, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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