The guide to
Is an Alzheimer's clinical trial right for you?
Personal fit and eligibility
Understanding Alzheimer's research
Enrolling in a clinical trial
narration
What are clinical trials?
Clinical trials are research studies that test new ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease. In dementia research, clinical trials are how scientists learn what works — and what doesn’t.
Categories of clinical trials:
Lifestyle trials
Diagnostic trials
Prevention trials
Intervention trials
narration
The 3 phases of drug trials
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Purpose
Test for safety and side effects; determining the right dose
Confirm effectiveness and compare to current treatments
Test for effectiveness; further evaluate safety
Number of volunteers
~20–80
~100–300
~300–3,000
from months to 2 years
Duration
multiple years
up to 1 year
Some drugs get accelerated approval — meaning they can reach the public while Phase 3 is still ongoing.
narration
narration
Should you participate in a trial?
Before joining a trial, consider:
Trials often require certain age ranges, cognitive scores, or genetic profiles (e.g., ApoE4).
Eligibility
Some trials last years and require frequent visits. Consider travel time and whether you’ll need a care partner.
Time commitment
Ask about side effects and risks, especially if you carry the ApoE4 gene.
Risks
Read about ARIA risks: What You Should Know About Brain Bleeds in Trials
Participation is typically free — but imaging, travel, or time off work may not be.
Cost & compensation
Should you enroll in a trial? 6 Things You Should Know
narration
Real stories from trial participants
Dewayne Nash
Participating in research gave him hope. But he wishes they had waited to approve the drug until more research was done.
Kim Reid
Adverse effects forced her to halt participation in a clinical trial.
Andres Martin
How the Jalisco gene, a rare genetic mutation, led to enrollment in a trial.
narration
Read more
Potential benefits
People who join dementia trials often say they feel empowered. Here's why:
Advancing science
Access to cutting-edge treatments
Your participation helps researchers find better diagnostics and treatments for everyone.
Some participants get early access to medications, which are however still unproven.
Taking control
Comprehensive monitoring
Joining a study can be an act of advocacy — for yourself, your loved ones, and future generations.
Regular health checks, scans, and labs may catch other conditions early.
narration
Diversity in clinical trials
Too often, clinical trial participants don’t reflect the communities most impacted by dementia.
Latin Americans, Black Americans, and Indigenous communities are underrepresented in dementia research.
“Diversity is important to make sure that the diagnostic tools that we use, the treatments we develop, are efficacious for all.”
Read more
Dr. Monica Parker, Emory ADRC
“We’ve already spent maybe billions of dollars in the last four decades [on diversifying trials], and yet less than 5 percent of these trials include underrepresented groups like Latinos and African Americans. That’s a travesty.”
Read more
María Aranda, University of Southern California
narration
Diversity in clinical trials
Mollie and Ralph Richards are long-time Alzheimer's educators and board members of the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Indiana. Mollie cofounded the Mount Olivet Baptist Church Alzheimer's Association Ministry, while Ralph co-chairs the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center community advisory board.
“We also employ things like building trust and understanding cultural competencies. If you got to go in and talk to some African Americans, make sure that people that are going in and talking are also African American, or they’re not going to listen. With any culture, I think it’s important. I think respect, as I mentioned, trust, and also, you ask yourself the question, or they’re asking, “Do you care about me?” “Are you here because of research and the grants that you’re making the money?” “Or do you care about me? And the community and the people of color?” If you can answer that question, then you have it.”
Ralph Richards
Read more
narration
How to get involved?
Find a trial near you:
- Ask your doctor if any local trials are recruiting.
- Sign up for Being Patient’s Trials Update Newsletter for alerts about studies near you.
- Join a support group — word-of-mouth is powerful.
narration
Explore more resources on beingpatient.com
You’ve just taken the first step toward understanding how dementia research works — and why your participation matters.
narration
Want to keep learning?
Visit
beingpatient.com
for the latest news and information on brain health and Alzheimer's disease
narration
Diagnostic Trials
These trials test different ways to diagnose dementia. For example, blood tests that can detect Alzheimer’s biomarkers are new to the market, and some are being tested now in clinical trials.
Prevention Trials
Prevention trials are long-term observation trials that seek to understand how dementia might be preventable.
Lifestyle Trials
Lifestyle trials examine how factors like diet, exercise, sleep, education and social interaction can influence dementia risk.
“I couldn’t think... It was like your mind was lost...” - Kim Reid “She has done clinical trials before. Unfortunately she had a bad experience with one of the clinical trials that she had. With that experience, we’ve stepped back [for] a minute from clinical trials. But at the same time we were just offered another one last week that we’re looking into and considering… we have to do that now because of her adverse reaction to the first clinical trial. We were close to the end, probably about a month away from the last infusion, and she started having some side effects.” - Robert Reid, Kim’s husband and caregiver
READ MORE
“It gave me access to a drug that may slow the disease down. I’ve been able to access [the drug] five, six years before others have been able to. One thing this drug had given us was some hope.”
READ MORE
Intervention Trials
These trials evaluate drugs, devices, and other therapies as possible treatments for Alzheimer’s. Some of these therapies treat symptoms. Others are being designed to actually treat diseases like Alzheimer’s on a pathology level.
“A lot of the hispanic population [that] carry this mutation live paycheck to paycheck or are here illegally, which causes barriers to participating in medical trials or seeing a doctor. These people have to take days off work to be seen by doctors, and they may not be able to afford that.”
READ MORE
Is Alzheimer's Clinical Trial Right for You?
Deborah Kan
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Transcript
The guide to
Is an Alzheimer's clinical trial right for you?
Personal fit and eligibility
Understanding Alzheimer's research
Enrolling in a clinical trial
narration
What are clinical trials?
Clinical trials are research studies that test new ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease. In dementia research, clinical trials are how scientists learn what works — and what doesn’t.
Categories of clinical trials:
Lifestyle trials
Diagnostic trials
Prevention trials
Intervention trials
narration
The 3 phases of drug trials
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Purpose
Test for safety and side effects; determining the right dose
Confirm effectiveness and compare to current treatments
Test for effectiveness; further evaluate safety
Number of volunteers
~20–80
~100–300
~300–3,000
from months to 2 years
Duration
multiple years
up to 1 year
Some drugs get accelerated approval — meaning they can reach the public while Phase 3 is still ongoing.
narration
narration
Should you participate in a trial?
Before joining a trial, consider:
Trials often require certain age ranges, cognitive scores, or genetic profiles (e.g., ApoE4).
Eligibility
Some trials last years and require frequent visits. Consider travel time and whether you’ll need a care partner.
Time commitment
Ask about side effects and risks, especially if you carry the ApoE4 gene.
Risks
Read about ARIA risks: What You Should Know About Brain Bleeds in Trials
Participation is typically free — but imaging, travel, or time off work may not be.
Cost & compensation
Should you enroll in a trial? 6 Things You Should Know
narration
Real stories from trial participants
Dewayne Nash
Participating in research gave him hope. But he wishes they had waited to approve the drug until more research was done.
Kim Reid
Adverse effects forced her to halt participation in a clinical trial.
Andres Martin
How the Jalisco gene, a rare genetic mutation, led to enrollment in a trial.
narration
Read more
Potential benefits
People who join dementia trials often say they feel empowered. Here's why:
Advancing science
Access to cutting-edge treatments
Your participation helps researchers find better diagnostics and treatments for everyone.
Some participants get early access to medications, which are however still unproven.
Taking control
Comprehensive monitoring
Joining a study can be an act of advocacy — for yourself, your loved ones, and future generations.
Regular health checks, scans, and labs may catch other conditions early.
narration
Diversity in clinical trials
Too often, clinical trial participants don’t reflect the communities most impacted by dementia.
Latin Americans, Black Americans, and Indigenous communities are underrepresented in dementia research.
“Diversity is important to make sure that the diagnostic tools that we use, the treatments we develop, are efficacious for all.”
Read more
Dr. Monica Parker, Emory ADRC
“We’ve already spent maybe billions of dollars in the last four decades [on diversifying trials], and yet less than 5 percent of these trials include underrepresented groups like Latinos and African Americans. That’s a travesty.”
Read more
María Aranda, University of Southern California
narration
Diversity in clinical trials
Mollie and Ralph Richards are long-time Alzheimer's educators and board members of the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Indiana. Mollie cofounded the Mount Olivet Baptist Church Alzheimer's Association Ministry, while Ralph co-chairs the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center community advisory board.
“We also employ things like building trust and understanding cultural competencies. If you got to go in and talk to some African Americans, make sure that people that are going in and talking are also African American, or they’re not going to listen. With any culture, I think it’s important. I think respect, as I mentioned, trust, and also, you ask yourself the question, or they’re asking, “Do you care about me?” “Are you here because of research and the grants that you’re making the money?” “Or do you care about me? And the community and the people of color?” If you can answer that question, then you have it.”
Ralph Richards
Read more
narration
How to get involved?
Find a trial near you:
narration
Explore more resources on beingpatient.com
You’ve just taken the first step toward understanding how dementia research works — and why your participation matters.
narration
Want to keep learning?
Visit
beingpatient.com
for the latest news and information on brain health and Alzheimer's disease
narration
Diagnostic Trials
These trials test different ways to diagnose dementia. For example, blood tests that can detect Alzheimer’s biomarkers are new to the market, and some are being tested now in clinical trials.
Prevention Trials
Prevention trials are long-term observation trials that seek to understand how dementia might be preventable.
Lifestyle Trials
Lifestyle trials examine how factors like diet, exercise, sleep, education and social interaction can influence dementia risk.
“I couldn’t think... It was like your mind was lost...” - Kim Reid “She has done clinical trials before. Unfortunately she had a bad experience with one of the clinical trials that she had. With that experience, we’ve stepped back [for] a minute from clinical trials. But at the same time we were just offered another one last week that we’re looking into and considering… we have to do that now because of her adverse reaction to the first clinical trial. We were close to the end, probably about a month away from the last infusion, and she started having some side effects.” - Robert Reid, Kim’s husband and caregiver
READ MORE
“It gave me access to a drug that may slow the disease down. I’ve been able to access [the drug] five, six years before others have been able to. One thing this drug had given us was some hope.”
READ MORE
Intervention Trials
These trials evaluate drugs, devices, and other therapies as possible treatments for Alzheimer’s. Some of these therapies treat symptoms. Others are being designed to actually treat diseases like Alzheimer’s on a pathology level.
“A lot of the hispanic population [that] carry this mutation live paycheck to paycheck or are here illegally, which causes barriers to participating in medical trials or seeing a doctor. These people have to take days off work to be seen by doctors, and they may not be able to afford that.”
READ MORE