Background
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slow, progressive disease that profoundly affects memory and everyday function. While there are treatments available to help manage symptoms, at present there is no cure and no treatment that is effective at slowing the progression of AD.
This study aims to trial a new medication that is designed to detect changes in biological markers (biomarkers) associated with very early AD, before it progresses into dementia. Although the study is not expected to provide any direct benefit to participants, it will be vital for learning more about biomarkers and will help us develop better ways of detecting whether new drugs aiming to modify the disease are effective.
Eligibility Criteria
We are looking for participants who are:
- Age 50 or over
- Experiencing short-term memory difficulties AND have a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
- Willing to consider taking part in a brief investigational drug trial
Please note, there are other criteria to meet to be eligible; we have only listed here the ones that are easy for you to determine.
Participant Involvement
- If you are eligible to take part, you will be randomly allocated to either the active drug group or the placebo (dummy drug) group. You will be asked to take the allocated drug twice a day for up to 15 days. We cannot tell you which group you have been allocated to.
- We will ask you to keep a medication diary to record your daily medication intake.
- You will be asked to attend 4 study visits over the duration of 6 weeks.
- You would need to identify a study partner who can attend the screening visit with you and help with answering questions about your health.
- Visits will include memory tests, questionnaires, a doctor examination, and blood, urine & spinal fluid collection.
- You will need to fast overnight (10hrs) before some visits.
- During the pandemic, you may be asked to complete some study assessments by phone call with a member of the research team.
During the study, you will be required to have 2 lumbar punctures (spinal fluid collections) within 14 days. Please click the video link below which explains the procedure and will give you an idea of what you can expect if you consider taking part in this study.
Having a lumbar puncture | Alzheimer’s Society
Potential Benefits to Participants
- There is no direct benefit to you from taking part in this study. However, if you do take part you will be contributing to medical knowledge and potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
- You will be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses.
- You will also receive up to £320 for your time and inconvenience. The exact amount will depend on the number of visits you have completed.
If you meet the eligibility criteria above and would like to express interest in the study, please contact your nearest centre for more information:
Cambridge: Wru@cpft.nhs.uk
London: memory.research@kcl.ac.uk queries directed to Balvinder Gakhal
Oxford: micad@psych.ox.ac.uk queries directed to Michael Ben Yehuda