Clinical Trial Network in Houston is now enrolling participants in a national Alzheimer’s prevention study to determine whether two investigational anti-amyloid compounds—an active immunotherapy and an oral medication—can prevent or delay the emergence of symptoms of Alzheimer’s in people identified by genetic markers as being at particularly high risk for developing the disease at older ages. The accumulation of amyloid plaques, protein fragments that form between nerve cells in the brain, is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.
The number of people in Texas age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase 40% by 2025 to a projected 490,000 people, an important reminder that a medical breakthrough for the disease is strongly needed. Clinical Trial Network is one of approximately 90 sites in North America, Europe and Australia participating in the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative (API) Generation Study.
The five-year study will involve more than 1,300 cognitively healthy older adults, ages 60 to 75, who are at high risk of developing symptoms of Alzheimer’s because they inherited two copies of the e4 type of the apolipoprotein (APOE) gene—one from each parent. Roughly one in four people carry a single copy of the e4 type of the APOE gene, which is strongly linked to late-onset Alzheimer’s, and about two percent of the world’s population carries two copies.
The API Generation Study is the first to incorporate genetic testing and counseling into the study screening process. Participants will be required to learn whether they carry none, one or two copies of the e4 type of the APOE gene. Only those who learn they have two copies will be invited to participate in the study. The API Generation Study will be providing genetic counseling in person, by phone or through video-conferencing.
“We are very excited to be a part of research that could impact people around the nation and the world,” said Jamshid Lotfi, M.D., principal investigator at Clinical Trial Network. “Participating in research like the Generation Study is a great way to join the fight against this horrible disease.”
For more information, visit www.generationstudy.com.