The Indiana University Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials team at IU School of Medicine specializes in clinical neurologic research of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Frontotemporal Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
Through support and partnerships with the National Institutes of Health, pharmaceutical sponsors, the Global Alzheimer’s Platform and various academic medical centers across the country, the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials team is able to further advance research and treatment for patients living with these neurodegenerative diseases.
What are Clinical Trials?
Clinical trials are research studies that involve people and are conducted to evaluate a new medical treatment, drug or medical device. They are designed to find new and improved ways to diagnose, treat or prevent different diseases. Researchers depend on patient volunteers to participate in clinical trials to determine whether a new drug or procedure is more effective compared to the current or standard method.
Scientists are currently recruiting participants to join trials that are testing new drug and non- drug-based dementia treatments, finding better ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s and address the quality of life needs for people living with these illnesses.
There are two main categories of trials: interventional and observational. Interventional trials involve studying a new medication. Observational studies do not have an interventional aspect such as medication, but strive to learn more about the disease process in order to help develop these treatments.
The majority of interventional trials have a placebo group, or a group that does not receive active medication. This is to help make sure study results are accurate.
There are many reasons why volunteers participate in clinical trials. Besides improving their own health, participants can make a life-saving difference in lives of others with similar conditions.
