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Clinical Trials

Mayo Clinic Looking for Research Volunteers

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville have been recruiting participants for a study looking to pinpoint genes that increase the chance of people developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life.  Previous research has shown that late-onset Alzheimer’s disease—a form of the disease that strikes people 65 and older—runs in families.  So finding families with two or more members who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in their 60s and beyond is extremely helpful in learning more about who will get the disease and why.

Mayo Clinic is one of seven national institutions participating in the multiyear study being funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The goal is to create a large bank of genetic material and data from these families allowing researchers to identify the genes that cause the disease, examine the underlying disease process, and identify new drug therapies.  The study is a third of the way to its goal and researchers have until 2011 to recruit families willing to participate.

There are currently 888 families participating in the study nationwide.  Of these, 622 families are actively enrolled in the study of the National Cell Repository for AD (NCRAD).  Researchers anticipate hitting the 1,000 family mark this year.  Even after this goal is met, recruitment of new families will continue.

“When a family acts together to make the data available and researchers work together to collect it, it has a multiplying effect,” says Dr. Neill Graff-Radford, medical director of the Memory Disorder Clinic at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.  “This information has the potential to tell us a lot of things.  What these families are doing is not only for the greater good, but it might help their own families in the future.”

To be eligible, families must have at least three members who can donate blood, including two siblings who developed Alzheimer’s disease after age 60, another family member over age 50 who may have memory loss or a family member over age 60 who does not have memory loss.  Participation involves a neurological exam, donating a blood sample, and providing medical records, demographic information and family histories.  Family members without memory problems may be asked to participate as well.  There is no cost involved and all information gathered is treated confidentially.  All blood samples and data are coded and all personal identification is removed to protect the privacy of study participants.  Family members do not have to be living in or near the Jacksonville area to participate in this study.  Coordinators will make alternative arrangements for participation if eligible volunteers do not live near Mayo Clinic Jacksonville.

The study is also seeking volunteers to serve as “controls”.  Individuals who have no family or personal history of memory problems are also being asked to participate.  Spouses, friends and other interested people ago 60 or older without memory impairment who are not biologically related to participating family members are welcome to volunteer in the research study.   Again, participation does not require travel to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, and can even be done over the phone with arrangements for blood samples to be taken with a local health care provider.

For more information about participating in this research study or others, please contact study coordinators Jenny Haddow at (904) 953-7439 or Jennifer Adamson at (904) 953-7687.

For additional information on participating in clinical trials, call 1-800-438-4380.  Also visit the National Institutes of Health website at Clinicaltrials.gov.  Information is also available on the National Institute of Health website.