Research and clinical trials are vital to the study of any branch of medicine. However, they’re perhaps even more crucial as we look for advancements in the treatment of dementia and other cognitive disorders.
Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and few cures are available for other types of dementia. The need for research only intensifies as populations in Columbus and around the globe continue to lead longer lives.
More than 55 million people worldwide live with dementia and 10 million new diagnoses happen every year.
Since its inception in 1993, the Memory Disorders Clinic at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has been unmatched in its dedication to dementia research. The past two decades, we’ve produced more than 200 dementia-related trials — the most in the state of Ohio.
At any given time, roughly three dozen clinical trials about memory and cognitive disorders are happening here at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
This allows the people we treat to have access to the latest diagnostic tools and treatments for dementia.
What areas of dementia is Ohio State researching?
Our clinical trials, which are sponsored by the university, National Institutes of Health or pharmaceutical companies, cover a breadth of topics from prevention to diagnosis to treatment of dementia.
They also look at different stages and types of dementia
Here’s a sampling of some of the areas in which we’re making significant breakthroughs:
- Dementia with Lewy bodies
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Agitation and other behaviors among those with dementia diseases
- Biomarkers for dementia and early detection
- Preclinical treatment of those at risk for dementia
We implement various types of trials, including observational, procedural, medication or treatment based.
We have state-of-the-art imaging machines and techniques that produce crisp, high-resolution images at a remarkable level of accuracy, which is required for doing such research.
How to enroll in an ongoing or upcoming dementia clinical trial?
Individuals willing to participate in our clinical trials are vital in our study of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
For patients and families who want to contribute to the fight against dementia, please consider enrolling in a clinical trial.
You can do this by contacting Jenny Icenhour, clinical research manager, at 614-293-6882.
For more information on clinical trials happening at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, you can visit our main research page.
What’s our Buckeye Brain Bank and Repository?
Through this joint effort within Ohio State’s Neurological Research Institute, people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can donate their brains after death to be used for scientific research through the Neuroscience Research Institute Buckeye Brain Bank & Repository if they wish.
The repository also collects and stores blood and spinal fluid from consenting people with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive and neurological disorders for research purposes.
These fluids and brain tissue are invaluable in discovering new treatments for dementia conditions and other diseases of the brain. We also provide these samples to researchers across the country who might need them for their own studies.