AzTrials
AzTrials

Healthy ParticipantsNoMADNCT03900273

Development of Novel Measures for Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Trials

A study testing No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery, and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS) and Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Scale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ) in people with Healthy Participants, run by New York State Psychiatric Institute at 4 sites in United States.

Suspended

Paused. Enrolment is on hold for now and may resume.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

This protocol focuses on novel measures of cognition and everyday function that have robust psychometrics and reduced practiced effects. They will be deployed in a parallel group study in which participants are randomized to assessment type (novel vs established) and receive serial assessments over a one year period… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 60 to 85 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Healthy Participants
What is being tested?
No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery, and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS) and Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Scale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ)
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
400 participants
Where
4 sitesUnited States
Study dates
25 Feb 2019to 31 Aug 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 60 to 85 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • English speaking participants, ages 60-85 years
  • MMSE score of 24 or greater
  • Logical Memory II score of 9 or greater for subjects with 16 or more years of education, 5 or more for subjects with 8-15 years of education, and 3 or greater for subjects with 0-7 years of education
  • Presence of subjective memory complaints not exclusionary
  • A family member or other individual who is in contact with the subject and consents to serve as informant during the study.

Who cannot join

  • Diagnosis of stroke or excessive risk of CVD
  • Neurologic disease including movement disorders, MS, epilepsy, and TBI (with greater than 15 min loss of consciousness)
  • Untreated diabetes
  • Current DSM-5 Axis I psychiatric diagnosis of schizophrenia schizoaffective disorder or bipolar disorder; current major depression as determined by a Geriatric Depression Scale score of greater than 5. Current alcohol or substance use disorder
  • Active treatment of cancer
  • MMSE score below 24 and Logical Memory below 9 for subjects with 16 or more years of education, 5 for subjects with 8-15 years of education, and 3 for subjects with 0-7 years of education
  • Females who are pre-menopausal and are pregnant.
  • Use of antidepressants with large anticholinergic properties will be excluded. These include: amitriptyline, amoxapine, clomipramine, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, isocarboxazide, lithium, maprotiline, mirtazapine, nortriptyline, tranylcypromine trimipramine, and phenelzine.

Trial locations and contacts

4 sites in 1 country.

United States4 sites
  • University of Southern California

    Los Angeles, California, 90033

  • The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

    Manhasset, New York, 11030

  • University of Miami

    Miami, Florida, 33136

  • New York State Psychiatric Institute

    New York, New York, 11032

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Development of Novel Measures of Cognition and Function for Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Trials

This protocol focuses on novel measures of cognition and everyday function that have robust psychometrics and reduced practiced effects. They will be deployed in a parallel group study in which participants are randomized to assessment type (novel vs established) and receive serial assessments over a one year period in order to highlight contrasts between novel and established measures.

Read the detailed description

This protocol has the goal of validating novel cognitive and everyday functional measures that have sharply attenuated practice effects and are not prone to ceiling effects for use in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) trials in which participants are cognitively within normal limits. To implement this, we will conduct an innovative parallel group study in which 400 healthy, non-cognitively impaired older subjects are randomized to one of two groups based on assessment type (novel instruments vs. established) and receive three serial assessments over a one year period. Novel cognitive measures include tests of executive function, episodic memory, and processing speed combined into a single composite. Novel functional measures involve computerized performance based, ecologically relevant instrumental activities. We will compare our novel No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS) against established measures that include the ADAS-COG in order to determine which battery (novel or established) has better psychometric properties and is less sensitive to practice effects in this clinical trials structure.

Being tested
No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery, and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS), Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Scale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ)
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, Neuropsychological Testing, Healthy Older Individuals, Psychometrics, Prevention, Clinical Trial
Medical subject headings
Alzheimer Disease

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery, and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS)Other

    Novel measures of Cognitive and Everyday function

  • Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Scale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ)Other

    Established measures of Cognitive and Everyday Function

Study groups in NCT03900273
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Novel measures of cognition and everyday functionExperimentalNo Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS) Participants will receive three serial assessments of the NPE and CFAS over a one year period. Assessments will take place at baseline, week 12, and week 52.
Receives: Other: No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery, and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS)
Established measures of cognition and everyday functionActive comparatorPreclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC) Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ). Participants will receive three serial assessments of the PACC, ADAS-Cog and FAQ over a one year period. Assessments will take place at baseline, week 12, and week 52.
Receives: Other: Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Scale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS).

    Novel computerized measure of everyday function. Testing format is a set of simulations (ATM use, Kiosk ticket purchase , Prescription refill , and Doctor's visit ). We will construct a z score based on the "rate" measure which accounts for both speed and accuracy. Higher scores suggest greater cognitive function while lower scores indicate greater cognitive impairment.

    Measured: Baseline to Week 52; change in score will be assessed

  2. No Practice Effect (NPE) Cognitive Battery.

    Novel measure of cognitive function. Scores can be age-adjusted by decade. The majority of the subtests ( including tests of Cognitive Control/Executive Processes, Working Memory,Speed of Processing,Verbal Fluency and Episodic Memory)are computerized or partially computerized. All tests have three equivalent alternate forms. We will construct a z-score averaged composite based on scores of the subtests at baseline. Higher scores suggest greater cognitive function while lower scores indicate greater cognitive impairment.

    Measured: Baseline to Week 52; change in score will be assessed

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted3 Apr 2019
  2. Study start25 Feb 2019
  3. Primary completion31 Aug 2025
  4. Study completion31 Aug 2026 (estimated)

Why it stopped: The NYSPI site is currently paused and has been paused since an institutional pause on human subjects research began in June 2023. The U.S. Department of HHS Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) issued a pause on human subjects research.

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
400 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03900273
Sponsor's protocol ID
7672
Acronym
NoMAD
Status last verified
Oct 2025
First submitted
15 Mar 2019
Last updated
31 Oct 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Goldberg TE, Harvey PD, Wesnes KA, Snyder PJ, Schneider LS. Practice effects due to serial cognitive assessment: Implications for preclinical Alzheimer's disease randomized controlled trials. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2015 Mar 29;1(1):103-11. doi: 10.1016/j.dadm.2014.11.003. eCollection 2015 Mar.

    PubMed 27239497
  • Bell SA, Cohen HR, Lee S, Kim H, Ciarleglio A, Andrews H, Rivera AM, Igwe K, Brickman AM, Devanand DP, Harvey PD, Schneider LS, Goldberg TE. Development of novel measures for Alzheimer's disease prevention trials (NoMAD). Contemp Clin Trials. 2021 Jul;106:106425. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106425. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

    PubMed 33933666

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery, and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS) and Preclinical Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Scale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ) in people with Healthy Participants, run by New York State Psychiatric Institute at 4 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: paused, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Oct 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 4 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS). (time frame: Baseline to Week 52; change in score will be assessed). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03900273, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Oct 2025.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in