Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42759181›Full record

ArticleNeurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics2026

A brief acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for individuals at risk of neurodegenerative disease: A translational study in inherited prion disease.

Rhianna Brien, Lilian Dindo, Rachel Williams, Lucy Pauli, Beth Marsh, John Collinge, Simon Mead, Edgar Chan

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Rhianna BrienResearch Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
Lilian DindoDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Rachel WilliamsMRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Disease, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Lucy PauliMRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Disease, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Beth MarshCJD Support Network, UK (Charity No. 1097173), UK.
John CollingeMRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Disease, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Simon MeadMRC Prion Unit at UCL, Institute of Prion Disease, London, UK; National Prion Clinic, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Edgar ChanNational Prion Clinic, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Department of Neuropsychology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH, London, UK; Department of Translational Neuroscience and Stroke, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK. Electronic address: Edgar.chan1@nhs.net.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Living at risk of a neurodegenerative condition such as inherited prion disease (IPD) is associated with substantial psychological burden, yet evidence-based supportive interventions are lacking. This unmet need is likely to grow as advances in biomarkers and predictive testing lead to increasing identification of individuals in pre-symptomatic stages of neurodegenerative disease. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a transdiagnostic intervention targeting psychological flexibility, has shown promise in chronic health contexts but has not been evaluated in individuals at genetic risk. Inherited prion disease was used as a model population to examine acceptability, feasibility and preliminary therapeutic effects in a rare neurogenetic context. The intervention comprised a single 5-h, face-to-face group workshop followed by an individual booster session. Prespecified feasibility and acceptability criteria were assessed alongside secondary psychological outcomes at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months post-intervention, complemented by semi-structured qualitative interviews. Twenty-three participants completed the intervention. All predefined feasibility criteria were met, including recruitment (58%), intervention completion (80%), retention at 3 months (79%), and low missing data (10%). Acceptability was high, with all participants reporting the intervention as useful and appropriate. Quantitative analyses demonstrated improvements in psychological quality of life and behavioural awareness at 3 months, with larger effects observed in participants with elevated baseline depressive symptoms. Qualitative findings highlighted the importance of peer connection, experiential learning, and practical strategies for managing uncertainty. These findings provide support for a scalable psychological intervention that may address cost and time barriers and represent an important component of future neurotherapeutic care.

Indexed as

Acceptance and Commitment TherapyNeurodegenerative DiseasesPrion DiseasesAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTranslational Research, BiomedicalACTGenetic riskPrion diseasePsychology

Identifiers

PMID42759181
PMCPMC13602045

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.