Language Barrier Means Millions of Seniors Can't Access Alzheimer's Trials

Although there are a number of clinical drug trials targeting Alzheimer's underway, millions of seniors who would qualify to participate are unable to do so because of a language barriers, reports WABE . Few Alzheimer's studies have recruited medical interpreters to help applicants complete the specialized neuropsychological testing component required. A study published in Clinical Neuropsychology says a key challenge is that clinicians and researchers have warned against the use of interpreters to facilitate neuropsychological testing based on clinical experiences, observations, and anecdotal evidence that they affect outcomes. Obstacles to Alzheimer's trials may have the most profound effect on U.S. Hispanics, with U.S. Census estimates that nearly 6 million Americans are 60 or older, including about 2.2 million Spanish speakers who are 65 or older and are not English-fluent. LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Executive Director Jason Resendez expects such challenges to worsen in coming decades. "We know Latinos will make up a bigger and bigger share of the community living with Alzheimer's in the future," he says. "And we know that we don't have the workforce pipeline in place to accurately diagnose and enroll these folks into cutting-edge research."