Research is one of the areas of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) of great interest to me. One of the best Web sites for this information is http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers. This Web site is part of the Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center (ADEAR). Although the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is located in Bethesda, Maryland in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, there are studies going on across the country. In addition, there are research studies at all stages of Alzheimer’s. The NIH, known as The Nation’s Medical Research Agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research.

Through research, diagnoses of AD is becoming increasingly accurate. However, absolute certainly still requires an autopsy to define the plaques in the brain. Participation in these studies may require an autopsy where there is no charge to the family. However, if an autopsy is not acceptable to you or your loved one, then participating in research may not be something you should consider.

Participating in a research study could be very time consuming as well. It could involve commuting to the study site as well as filling out mounds of paper work. The specific drug in the drug trial may or may not work or it may work for awhile and then stop working so it’s better to keep your expectations low. Just remember to consider all aspects of  your life as a caregiver before signing up your loved one.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Bookmark and Share

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease • Alzheimer's Disease Research • Clinical Trials

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!