A Big Alzheimer's Drug Study Is Proceeding Cautiously Despite the Pandemic

The University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) and dozens of other research centers are moving forward with the AHEAD study, a global test of whether an investigational drug can slow down the earliest brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. UC Irvine's Joshua Grill tells National Public Radio that finding enrollees is challenging even without a pandemic to contend with. Participants will get either a placebo or a drug, BAN2401, which is meant to reduce levels of amyloid. They also will undergo positron emission tomography scans of their brains to measure changes in amyloid and tau protein. UC Irvine has deployed numerous safety measures to minimize exposure to COVID-19. Medical staff will be screened daily, patient visits are spaced out to avoid overlaps, exam rooms undergo extra cleaning, and personal protective equipment is routine. Grill says enrollment has become difficult in African American and Latino communities, which have been especially impacted by COVID-19. Crystal Glover at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago is consulting on recruitment efforts at other centers, including those participating in the AHEAD study. "If we are looking to enroll folks now, we need to reach back out to the communities in which we already have relationships," she explains.