The awful A word. Anyone hearing this diagnosis for themself, a friend, or a family member can’t help but be filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. Given the graying of America’s baby boomer population, it’s hard to find an adult today whose life hasn’t been touched in some way by Alzheimer’s disease. That is certainly the case for our employees here at the Clinical Research Center and as a result, when we are approached about participating in an Alzheimer’s research study, the prospective study is evaluated with a professional and a personal perspective.
The Clinical Research Center’s first experience with an Alzheimer’s disease study was in 2007. Our site participated in a clinical trial of the Exelon skin patch. The drug in the patch, rivastigmine, had been approved in 2000 by the FDA in a capsule and syrup format. However, the capsule and syrup had the downside of causing stomach upset in many patients. The idea behind the patch was to deliver the medication in a way that would circumvent this unpleasant side effect. Ultimately the Exelon patch was approved by the FDA and is currently one of the treatment options for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Our site has recently been selected to participate in the Expedition 3 Alzheimer’s disease study, a potential new treatment for patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease. From a researcher’s perspective I can say the study is much more complex than our average study; however, our research site is resolved to participate in clinically-sound studies that may make new treatments available for this heartbreaking disease.
I expect this to be the first of several blog posts about Alzheimer’s disease studies, and I’ll be blogging more information about the Expedition 3 study very soon. If you’d like to speak to someone right away, contact Josh at the Clinical Research Center at 541-754-1398, option 7, or send an email to research@corvallisclinic.com.
– Julie Carrico is Associate Coordinator of The Corvallis Clinic Clinical Research Center
