New service for Alzheimer’s clinical trial volunteers
July 14, 2010 ·
The Alzheimer’s Association 2010 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease got underway this week in Hawaii with the debut of a project to encourage greater participation in critical clinical trials.
TrialMatch is an online
and phone-based service to help volunteers find an appropriate clinical trial.
The service is free and confidential.
Jane Marks, Executive
Director of the Alzheimer’s Association West Virginia Chapter says she knows
first hand how easy it is to use the service.
“You type in your
information or you can give your information via an 800-number, for instance I
did this for my mother who has early stages Alzheimer’s,” said Marks.
“I clicked a few buttons
and got 3 pages of trials that are currently enrolling all across the country
that we could contact and possibly enroll in should we choose,” she said.
“Obviously we might not want to enroll in a trial as far away as California, but I found out there
are a couple clinical trials in Charlottesville, VA!”
Marks believes
hard-to-find information about existing trials and the need for caregivers to
commit to providing transportation are two reasons more individuals with
Alzheimer’s are not volunteering.
“But I think people are
becoming more and more determined to make a difference with this disease and
want to force the issue if you will,” said Marks.
“I think they’re going
to be more willing to make the commitment and do the traveling once they know
there really is a good clinical trial out there that is currently enrolling.”
The web service can be
found at www.alz.org/TrialMatch.
The toll free phone number
is 800–272-3900.
“There is a lot of hope,
but unfortunately we always hear about the failures,” said Marks.
“But in all things that
we’re testing, it’s the failures that actually bring us to success if you think
about it, it’s finding out what doesn’t work that gives you what does work.”