Indianapolis – Researchers from Indiana University Indianapolis, Regenstrief Institute and the IU School of Medicine’s Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center – led by Babar Khan, M.D., M.S., Sophia Wang, M.D., and Jesse Stewart, PhD, – have been notified of funding from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Aging (NIA) to explore the potential of online therapy to improve cognitive health in older intensive care unit (ICU) survivors struggling with depression.
The total NIH-NIA award is expected to be nearly $3.7 million over five years.
The randomized clinical trial – called ADEPT-ICU (Attenuating DEPression with Internet CBT to Slow Cognitive Decline in Older ICU Survivors) – will evaluate an internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called Good Days Ahead to determine if it can slow subjective cognitive decline in older ICU survivors with moderate to severe depression.
Depression affects one-third of patients released from the ICU and is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Researchers believe effective depression treatment could be an impactful tool in the effort to prevent cognitive decline in this at-risk population.
“Given cognitive decline’s significant impact on older ICU survivors, there’s a critical need for innovative and accessible interventions,” said Dr. Khan, a Regenstrief and IU School of Medicine researcher-physician. “Depression presents a promising target for such treatments.”
“There are very few, if almost no, evidence-based treatments for cognitive impairment and depression in older ICU survivors,” said Dr. Wang, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine. “ADEPT-ICU will provide critical information about whether internet-based CBT, a well-established treatment for depression in other populations, could address both depression and cognitive decline in this growing population.”
Good Days Ahead is an evidence-based, therapist-assisted CBT that uses a scalable internet-based platform. The ADEPT-ICU study team will enroll 300 older ICU survivors with moderate to severe depression. To ensure a diverse cohort, at least half of the enrolled patients will identify as Black or Hispanic/Latino or have fewer than 12 years of education. The efficacy of the CBT intervention will be compared to that of an active control.
“This new clinical trial represents team science at work,” said Dr. Stewart. “It brings together experts in critical care medicine, geriatric psychiatry and clinical health psychology to tackle depression and cognitive decline – common problems in ICU survivors. It also utilizes a digital therapeutic, which can help address the shortage of CBT therapists.”
“If the therapy is successful, it could be an efficacious, accessible and scalable approach to reduce the burden of cognitive decline and improve quality of life in older ICU survivors,” said Dr. Khan.
The five-year award is presented by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging under award number 1R01AG084754-01A1. The co-principal investigators are Dr. Wang of the IU School of Medicine and Dr. Stewart of the IU School of Science and a Regenstrief affiliate scientist.
Babar Khan, M.D., M.S.
In addition to his role as associate director and research scientist with the Indiana University Center for Aging Research at Regenstrief Institute, Dr. Khan is also a professor of medicine and the Floyd and Reba Smith Professor in Respiratory Disease in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. In January of 2024, he was appointed the first chief of the newly created Critical Care Section – Indiana Critical Care Management and Recovery Program in the IU Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Occupational Medicine.