How to Participate in Clinical Trials

Our research team can help determine whether you may qualify for a current or future Alzheimer’s disease or memory-disorder clinical trial.

Getting Started

• Call to schedule a private memory pre-screening appointment.
• Speak with a Research Coordinator about your medical history and begin a medical-record review.
• Discuss available research studies for which you may qualify.
• Complete the informed-consent process for an appropriate study.

All study visits, assessments, and evaluations are provided at no cost to patients.

Why Participate in Clinical Research?

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that can affect memory, thinking, language, judgment, and eventually the ability to live independently. It affects individuals, families, friends, and caregivers throughout our community.

An estimated 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Research is essential to improving how Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders are prevented, diagnosed, treated, and ultimately cured.

For many years, available medications primarily helped with symptoms such as memory loss and confusion. Today, research has advanced considerably. Scientists are studying treatments directed at amyloid and tau, as well as inflammation, brain-cell health, metabolism, synaptic function, and other processes involved in Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders.

Clinical trials are the essential next step after promising treatments have been developed and evaluated in the laboratory. They help researchers determine whether a treatment is safe, whether it works, what dose is appropriate, and which patients may benefit most.

Some studies compare an investigational treatment with placebo. Others compare different doses, evaluate an active medication, provide open-label treatment, or follow participants over time without assigning a treatment. Studies may also include cognitive testing, blood tests, brain imaging, or other evaluations that help researchers better understand Alzheimer’s disease.

Every clinical study follows a detailed protocol and includes an informed-consent process. Participation is always voluntary, and patients and families have the opportunity to ask questions and decide whether a study is right for them.

Clinical trial volunteers play an essential role in developing better treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders.

Information for Families and Care Partners

Families and care partners are an important part of the clinical research process. They often help provide information about changes in memory, thinking, daily functioning, and overall health that may not be fully apparent during a clinic visit.

Depending on the study, a family member, friend, or other care partner may be asked to attend visits, assist with scheduling and transportation, complete questionnaires, or help monitor how the participant is doing between visits. The specific time commitment and responsibilities vary by study.

We understand that research participation must fit into real life. Our team works with patients and families to schedule visits as conveniently as possible and to make participation manageable around work, family responsibilities, travel, and other commitments.

Before enrollment, our team will review the expected visit schedule, procedures, and time commitment in detail so that patients and families can decide whether a study is a practical fit.

Participation in a clinical trial is always voluntary. Patients and families are encouraged to ask questions, take time to consider the information provided, and decide together whether a particular study is a good fit.

Research participation does not guarantee that a participant will receive an active treatment or personally benefit from a study. However, every participant and family helps advance knowledge that may lead to better options for future patients.

Our team is available to explain each study in detail and help patients and families understand what participation would involve before any decision is made.

• Are you between the ages of 50-85?
• Do you have a first degree family history of memory loss or Alzheimer’s disease?
• Are you starting to have concerns about memory and cognition?

During your clinic office visit if you are interested in research, we can order APOE genetic testing through a clinical laboratory to find out if you are genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s Disease.

Call for your appointment: 518-426-0575 or email us at Info@NAAResearch.com

What is clinical research?

Clinical research is the study of health, disease, and medical care in people. It helps researchers better understand conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and evaluate new ways to prevent, diagnose, monitor, or treat them.

Clinical research may involve medications, medical devices, blood tests, brain imaging, cognitive assessments, lifestyle interventions, or observational studies that follow participants over time. Clinical trials are one type of clinical research that evaluates a specific intervention or treatment.

Who sponsors clinical trials?

Clinical trials may be sponsored or funded by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic medical centers, hospitals, foundations, nonprofit organizations, physicians, or government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.

Sponsors support the development and conduct of a study, while the local research team is responsible for carrying out the study according to its approved protocol and protecting the safety and rights of participants.

Is clinical research the right choice for me or my family member?

Clinical research may be an opportunity to take an active role in advancing the understanding and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders. Some studies may offer access to investigational treatments or research-related evaluations that are not otherwise available outside a study.

However, participation does not guarantee that a participant will receive an active treatment or personally benefit from a study. Every study has different requirements, procedures, possible risks, and time commitments. Our team will review these carefully with patients and families so they can decide whether a study is appropriate and practical for them.

Who can participate in a clinical trial?

Each clinical trial has specific requirements for participation. These are called inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Inclusion criteria are characteristics that must be present for a person to participate, such as age range, diagnosis, memory-test score, medical history, or laboratory results. Exclusion criteria are factors that may prevent participation because they could affect safety, interfere with the study results, or make it difficult to complete the study procedures.

Some studies are designed for people with Alzheimer’s disease or another memory disorder, while others enroll people with mild symptoms, individuals at risk for future disease, care partners, or healthy volunteers.

Not qualifying for one clinical trial does not mean that a person will not qualify for another study. Our research team can help identify current or future opportunities that may be a better fit.

What happens before I decide whether to participate?

Before enrollment, patients and families meet with the research team to review the study in detail. This includes the purpose of the study, visit schedule, procedures, possible risks and benefits, alternatives, and expected time commitment.

Patients and families are encouraged to ask questions and take the time they need before making a decision. Participation is always voluntary.