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StrokeI-FACENCT07911878

Development, Validation and Normative Data of the Italian Battery for the Recognition of Famous Faces (FAME)

An observational study of Stroke and Alzheimer s Disease, run by Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA at 10 sites in Italy.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The I-FACE project aims to develop and validate a battery to assess famous-face recognition in people with neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. It will examine face naming, familiarity, and semantic knowledge, establish norms for the Italian population, and test how well the measures identify recognition… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 40 to 85 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
What is being tested?
Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE battery
How many people
300 participants
Where
10 sitesItaly
Study dates
5 Sep 2025to 30 Sep 2028
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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

Study population: The study will include adults aged 40-85 years in four groups: healthy controls, participants with probable frontotemporal dementia (FTD), participants with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), and participants assessed in the subacute phase after stroke (1 week to 3 months after the event). Stroke must be ischemic or hemorrhagic and confirmed by neuroimaging and/or clinical assessment. Participants will be recruited from the study's clinical setting and assessed using the I-FACE neuropsychological battery. Group-specific eligibility criteria will be applied.

Who may be able to join

  • Age 40-85 years. No chronic medical, neurological, or psychiatric conditions, or major depressive episode detected during screening.
  • No history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in the 5 years prior to screening.
  • Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥ 26.
  • Diagnosis of probable FTD according to established clinical criteria. Age 40-85 years. Ability to provide informed consent.
  • Diagnosis of probable AD according to established clinical criteria. Age 40-85 years. Ability to provide informed consent.
  • Subacute phase: 1 week to 3 months post-event. Ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke confirmed by neuroimaging and/or clinical judgment.

Who cannot join

  • Uncorrected vision or hearing impairment.
  • Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Patients
  • History of neurological diseases other than FTD (e.g., stroke, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury).
  • Uncorrected vision or hearing impairment. History of serious psychiatric diseases, developmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum), or intellectual disability.
  • Dementia severity (CDR) > 1.
  • Alzheimer's Disease (AD) Patients
Show all 11Show fewer
  • History of neurological diseases other than AD (e.g., stroke, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury).
  • Uncorrected vision or hearing impairment. History of serious psychiatric diseases, developmental disorders, or intellectual disability.
  • Dementia severity (CDR) > 1.
  • Post-Stroke Patients
  • History of previous stroke or multifocal stroke documented by imaging. Brainstem or cerebellar stroke. History of traumatic brain injury (TBI), seizures, brain tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, or psychiatric disorders.

Trial locations and contacts

10 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Petronilla Battista, PhD contact

+39 0807814331

petronilla.battista@icsmaugeri.it

10 sites in 1 country

Italy10 sites, 10 recruiting
  • Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS Bari

    Bari, 70124

    Serena Tagliente, MSc, +390807814331, serena.tagliente@icsmaugeri.it

    Stefania De Trane, MD, stefania.detrane@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • IRCCS Maugeri Castel Goffredo

    Castel Goffredo, MN, 46042

    Giuliana Vezzadini, MD, giuliana.vezzadini@icsmaugeri.it

    Not yet recruiting
  • IRCCS Maugeri Lumezzane

    Lumezzane, BS, 25065

    Lidia Gazzi, MSc, +39 030 825 3011, lidia.gazzi@icsmaugeri.it

    Gaia C Santi, PhD, +39 030 825 3011, gaia.santi@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS Milano

    Milan, 20138

    Christian Lunetta, MD, +39 02 5072 5266, christian.lunetta@icsmaugeri.it

    Claudia Bossi, MSc, +39 0382 592048, claudia.bossi@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • ICS Maugeri Mistretta

    Mistretta, ME, 98073

    Luisa Scaduto, MSc, 0921 389111, luisa.scaduto@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • IRCCS Maugeri Montescano

    Montescano, PV, 27040

    Antonia Pierobon, MSc, 0385 2471, antonia.pierobon@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • IRCCS Maugeri Pavia

    Pavia, 27100

    Marina Manera, MSc, 0382 592952, marina.manera@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • ICS Maugeri Sciacca

    Sciacca, AG, 92019

    Stefania Ruvolo, MSc, stefania.ruvolo@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • IRCCS Maugeri Telese Terme

    Telese Terme, 82037

    Pasquale Moretta, MSc, +39 0824 909111, pasquale.moretta@icsmaugeri.it

    Recruiting
  • IRCCS Maugeri Veruno

    Veruno, 28013

    Giusy Figliano, PhD, 0322 884711, giusi.figliano@icsmaugeri.it

    Not yet recruiting

Other trials in Italy

About this study

Official title: Sviluppo, Validazione e Dati Normativi Della Batteria Italiana Per il Riconoscimento Dei Volti Famosi I-FACE

The I-FACE project aims to develop and validate a battery to assess famous-face recognition in people with neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. It will examine face naming, familiarity, and semantic knowledge, establish norms for the Italian population, and test how well the measures identify recognition difficulties in patients with frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke.

Read the detailed description

The I-FACE project aims to develop and clinically validate a comprehensive neuropsychological battery for assessing famous-face recognition in people with neurodegenerative diseases and in stroke survivors. Face-recognition difficulties can affect a person's ability to identify familiar individuals and access information about them, yet these abilities are not always assessed systematically in clinical practice.

The battery will examine three components of famous-face recognition: Familiarity, or knowing that a face has been seen before; semantic knowledge, or retrieving information such as the person's profession; and naming, or producing the person's name. It will include four tasks: Famous Faces Confrontation Naming (FFCN), Famous Faces Semantic Association based on profession (FFSA), Famous Faces Triplet Words (FFTW), which assesses semantic associations using written names, and the Famous Faces Familiarity Judgement Task (FFFJT).

A pilot study will be used to refine the tasks and select items with good internal consistency. The researchers will then collect normative data from Italian participants, considering age, sex, and educational level, and establish cut-off scores for each subtest. Finally, the battery will be administered to people with frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke to assess its reliability and validity. Its ability to distinguish patients with face-recognition impairments from healthy individuals will be evaluated using measures including sensitivity, specificity, and ROC curve analyses. The overall aim is to provide a reliable tool for identifying and characterizing these difficulties, including subtle deficits that may support earlier and more accurate clinical assessment.

Being tested
Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE battery
Keywords
Famous-face recognition, Neuropsychological assessment, Neurodegenerative diseases
Medical subject headings
Stroke, Neurodegenerative Diseases

What participants receive

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

  • Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE batteryDiagnostic test

    Participants will complete the I-FACE neuropsychological assessment battery as outlined in the study protocol. The assessment includes standardised cognitive tests and questionnaires to evaluate the relevant cognitive domains. Participants will complete it once, and it does not involve therapeutic treatment or an investigational drug.

Study groups in NCT07911878
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy controlsControl participants will be administered the experimental neuropsychological battery to establish normative data.
Receives: Diagnostic Test: Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE battery
Patients with Alzheimer's diseasePatients with AD will be administered the experimental neuropsychological battery to establish the clinical validity of the FAME
Receives: Diagnostic Test: Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE battery
Patients with Frontotemporal dementiaPatients with FTD will be administered the experimental neuropsychological battery to establish the clinical validity of the FAME
Receives: Diagnostic Test: Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE battery
Post-stroke survivorsPost-stroke survivors will be administered the experimental neuropsychological battery to establish the clinical validity of the FAME
Receives: Diagnostic Test: Neuropsychological assessment using the I-FACE battery

What is being measured

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

  1. I-FACE total and subtest scores

    Participant performance on the four I-FACE tasks assessing famous-face naming, semantic association from faces, familiarity judgment, and semantic association from written names. Each item is scored 0 (incorrect/not identified) or 1 (correctly identified); total scores are calculated for each subtest.

    Measured: From enrollment to the end of neuropsychologic assessment (Day 1)

Timeline

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

  1. First posted3 Nov 2026
  2. Study start5 Sep 2025
  3. Primary completion31 Jan 2028 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Sep 2028 (estimated)

Resources

More details

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

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
300 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07911878
Sponsor's protocol ID
I-FACE CTSM162-25
Acronym
I-FACE
Status last verified
Oct 2026
First submitted
23 Oct 2026
Last updated
3 Nov 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared because the data include sensitive clinical and neuropsychological information, and sharing could compromise participant confidentiality. The informed consent and ethics approval do not provide for public sharing of IPD. De-identified data may be considered for sharing upon reasonable request, subject to approval by the study investigators and applicable privacy and ethical requirements

Publications

  • Gorno-Tempini ML, Price CJ. Identification of famous faces and buildings: a functional neuroimaging study of semantically unique items. Brain. 2001 Oct;124(Pt 10):2087-97. doi: 10.1093/brain/124.10.2087.

    PubMed 11571224
  • Gainotti G. Is the difference between right and left ATLs due to the distinction between general and social cognition or between verbal and non-verbal representations? Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015 Apr;51:296-312. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.02.004. Epub 2015 Feb 16.

    PubMed 25697904
  • Chan D, Anderson V, Pijnenburg Y, Whitwell J, Barnes J, Scahill R, Stevens JM, Barkhof F, Scheltens P, Rossor MN, Fox NC. The clinical profile of right temporal lobe atrophy. Brain. 2009 May;132(Pt 5):1287-98. doi: 10.1093/brain/awp037. Epub 2009 Mar 18.

    PubMed 19297506
  • Bruce V, Young A. Understanding face recognition. Br J Psychol. 1986 Aug;77 ( Pt 3):305-27. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1986.tb02199.x.

    PubMed 3756376
  • Brambati SM, Benoit S, Monetta L, Belleville S, Joubert S. The role of the left anterior temporal lobe in the semantic processing of famous faces. Neuroimage. 2010 Nov 1;53(2):674-81. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.06.045. Epub 2010 Jun 30.

    PubMed 20600979
  • Blank H, Wieland N, von Kriegstein K. Person recognition and the brain: merging evidence from patients and healthy individuals. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014 Nov;47:717-34. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.022.

    PubMed 25451765
  • Bizzozero I, Lucchelli F, Saetti MC, Spinnler H. "Whose face is this?": Italian norms of naming celebrities. Neurol Sci. 2007 Dec;28(6):315-22. doi: 10.1007/s10072-007-0845-6. Epub 2008 Jan 4.

    PubMed 18175078
  • Binney RJ, Henry ML, Babiak M, Pressman PS, Santos-Santos MA, Narvid J, Mandelli ML, Strain PJ, Miller BL, Rankin KP, Rosen HJ, Gorno-Tempini ML. Reading words and other people: A comparison of exception word, familiar face and affect processing in the left and right temporal variants of primary progressive aphasia. Cortex. 2016 Sep;82:147-163. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.05.014. Epub 2016 Jun 9.

    PubMed 27389800

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Stroke and Alzheimer s Disease, run by Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA at 10 sites in Italy.

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 6 inclusion and 11 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Nov 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 10 sites in Italy. 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?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

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

Contact Petronilla Battista, PhD (+39 0807814331, petronilla.battista@icsmaugeri.it), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

I-FACE total and subtest scores (time frame: From enrollment to the end of neuropsychologic assessment (Day 1)). 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 NCT07911878, which also lists 8 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 3 Nov 2026.

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