Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 70% of people diagnosed with dementia, and an estimated 26 million people worldwide.

In the very early stages, Alzheimer’s disease may be referred to or diagnosed as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

There are no available treatments to prevent or delay the start of Alzheimer’s disease and currently medications only provide a temporary improvement in symptoms.

Researchers at South London & Maudsley NHS Trust are looking into a new potential drug, Blarcamesine which may be effective in the early stages of the disease.

What does it involve?

The treatment will be administered via an oral capsule and participants will be asked to attend one of the study sites for physical and neurological examinations.

Participants will also receive two MRI scans at the beginning and end of the study and be asked to attend the research centres over a 54 week period.

The capsule is taken daily for a duration of 48 weeks.

Who can take part?

The study is open to men and women aged between 60-85 who have a diagnosis of MCI or mild-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Participants need to be either outpatients or residents of an assisted living facility and have a carer who spends at least 10 hours per week with them.

This is a Phase 3 trial which is recruiting across England and Scotland.

Within the first four weeks blood tests, physical examinations, memory tests and questionnaires will be used to determine if a participant can take part.

Hopeful outlook

Co- Chief Investigator Dr. Chris Kalafatis, South London & Maudsley NHS Trust said:

“Through this study, we hope to see if this drug can improve both cognition and function for people living with MCI or early-stage Alzheimer’s.

“We know that treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s only offers short-term benefits at present and we hope that this treatment if found to be effective will have a huge impact on the outlook of this devastating disease both for patients and their carers.

“I would therefore encourage anyone who meets the criteria to get involved and help us to determine if this is an effective treatment.”

How to get involved?

This study is recruiting until 15 May 2021.

To find out if you are eligible to join this study, as well as other dementia studies, sign in to your Join Dementia Research account or if you’re not already registered, sign up today!