NCT06825403

Olfactory Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Jeffrey Motter · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 55 Years – 89 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Sense of smell tends to decline in individuals with early Alzheimer's disease, typically earlier than when other senses and thinking abilities begin to decline. Memory for new odors is particularly diminished in these individuals. Existing treatments for AD do not improve these symptoms. A targeted treatment for improving sense of smell, called 'Olfactory Training', has been used to improve sense of smell in people with various forms of smell loss, though it is not known whether it can improve smell abilities and thinking abilities in patients who are at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The investigators will conduct a randomized clinical trial with patients who have mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This is an early phase of memory loss that is worse than normal aging and may precede Alzheimer's disease. Patients will be randomized to either olfactory memory training or visual memory training for 3 months, with a final follow-up visit at 6 months. This study will attempt to determine if olfactory training is a useful for improving smell abilities, thinking abilities, and everyday functioning by examining change in these outcomes over time.

Detailed description

There is an urgent and unmet need to develop interventions capable of improving cognition and everyday functioning in individuals at risk for cognitive decline. Olfactory training consists of systematic exposures to odors, with multiple reviews and meta-analyses concluding it has beneficial effects on cognition and olfaction. The application of olfactory training for preventing cognitive decline in MCI has received limited attention. The overarching goal of the research to be carried out in this application is to determine the feasibility and efficacy of Olfactory Memory Training (OMT) for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). 30 patients with MCI will be recruited from the Memory Disorders Center at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and randomized to 3 months of OMT or active control training. OMT will involve an odor memory task, during which patients sample containers consisting of pairs of commercially available odors (flavored tea leaves). During each training session, non-descript containers are placed on a grid. On each trial, patients sample two containers, and attempt to find a match. The active control involves Visual Memory Training (VMT) with matching of abstract symbols rather than odors. Patients will complete 48 training sessions at home lasting approximately 10 minutes each. At baseline, 3 months, and 6 months follow-up, patients will complete a battery of cognitive, olfactory, and functional measures. In Aim 1, the investigators will compare change in cognitive (Preclinical Alzheimer Composite-5 \[PACC5\]) and olfactory functioning (Sniffin' Sticks Threshold, Discrimination, and Identification \[TDI\]) over 6 months in OMT versus VMT. In Aim 2, the investigators will compare change in everyday functioning (Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living scale - Prevention Instrument \[ADCS-ADL-PI\]) over 6 months in OMT versus VMT. If successful, this study has potential to develop a low-cost and scalable intervention. This study will inform the design of subsequent larger trials of OMT.

Conditions

• Mild Cognitive Impairment

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Olfactory Memory Training	Participants will complete 48 OMT sessions at home lasting approximately 10 minutes each over 3 months.
BEHAVIORAL	Visual Memory Training	Participants will complete 48 VMT sessions at home lasting approximately 10 minutes each over 3 months.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-08-07
• Primary completion: 2028-03-31
• Completion: 2028-03-31
• First posted: 2025-02-13
• Last updated: 2026-03-19

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States