Facilitating Reading in Posterior Cortical Atrophy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Facilitating Reading in Posterior Cortical Atrophy
IRAS ID
159056
Contact name
Sebastian Crutch
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Data Protection Registration, Z6364106/2014/06/64
Research summary
Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a degenerative syndrome in which loss of tissue at the back of the brain leads to progressive loss of vision. PCA is most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s disease, but individuals with PCA have relatively preserved memory and insight in contrast to their difficulties seeing what and where things are. Loss of reading ability is an early and prominent symptom of PCA, with reading problems significantly limiting independence, professional and recreational activities. The current project will apply our knowledge of PCA to develop novel ways to improve reading, presenting text in ways that compensate for weakened visual abilities. Pilot data from 15 individuals with PCA has identified an average improvement of 103% in reading accuracy when reading passages using one presentation condition. The first stage of this investigation will involve home-based evaluations of a reading application incorporating the optimal presentations for reading in PCA. Each evaluation will last for a 6-week period, with each period accompanied by assessments of reading ability and patient and carer interviews. Parallel neuropsychological and eyetracking studies will be carried out to identify any additional perceptual manipulations that facilitate reading in posterior cortical atrophy; any effective manipulations and feedback from interviews will further improve the design of the reading application. The second stage of the investigation will construct and evaluate a web-version of the optimal reading application. Users of the web-based application will be asked to rate its ease of use and utility. The application will then be made publicly available through a website. Users will be requested to sign an online consent form and provide demographic information before downloading the application. The website will ask users to provide details regarding whether they feel the application has assisted their reading and/or resulted in them spending more time reading.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1577
Date of REC Opinion
24 Sep 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion