How dementia sounds in patients' personal stories compared with portrayals in novels
Official title: Examining Representations of Dementia in Fiction and Clinical Narratives
Run by Fu Jen Catholic University · NCT07482800 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This one-year project will collect spoken stories from people with early Alzheimer's and matched healthy volunteers and compare their language to dementia portrayals in contemporary novels to see if literary patterns help us spot and understand early language decline.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Ages | 60 Years to 85 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 40 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Fu Jen Catholic University Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (New Taipei City) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | March 17, 2026 |
| Main results expected | July 31, 2026 |
| Study ends | July 31, 2026 |
| Registry record updated | March 20, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07482800 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal candidates are people diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment who can communicate basic language, plus healthy volunteers matched for age and education.
✕Probably not a fit
People with advanced dementia or who are unable to communicate reliably, or those unwilling to participate, are unlikely to benefit from this protocol.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This prospective one-year study enrolls people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment and age- and education-matched healthy controls. Investigators will conduct semi-structured interviews focused on childhood memories, life events, and self-description, audio-record them, and transcribe spontaneous narratives for linguistic and narrative analysis. In parallel, selected contemporary novels that depict dementia will be analyzed for language disruption, narrative fragmentation, and identity changes in characters. A multidisciplinary team of neurologists, linguists, and literary scholars will perform cross-comparative analyses to build a reference model linking clinical language features and literary representation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could improve early recognition of language changes in dementia, foster more empathetic caregiving, and enrich medical humanities education.
How similar studies have gone: Prior linguistic research has identified some language markers of cognitive decline, but combining systematic clinical narrative analysis with literary analysis is a novel, underexplored approach.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or other mild cognitive impairment by a neurologist (case group) / healthy individuals matched for age and education level (control group) * Able to communicate and understand basic language Exclusion Criteria: * Refuse to participate in the study
Where it's running
-
Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University
New Taipei City, Taiwan Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Ke-Yun Chao, PhD — Fu Jen Catholic University
- Study coordinator: Ke-Yun Chao, PhD
- Email: ck_qq@hotmail.com
- Phone: +886-905-301-879
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.