A new study published in JAMA Neurology explored participants’ perspectives on receiving amyloid PET scan results as part of an Alzheimer’s disease prevention clinical trial, the A4 study. Participants at UCI MIND contributed to this important research, led by investigators at the University of Pennsylvania (read more about the study here).
Amyloid PET is a biomarker test that could someday be used to identify people at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease who may benefit from preventative or disease-delaying treatments. Biomarker testing such as amyloid PET is being used more and more in the research setting to identify participants appropriate for Alzheimer’s disease prevention trials, like the A4 study. However, before biomarker testing can be used clinically, more research is needed to understand how people interpret results and whether access to this information affects behavioral health and lifestyle choices, making studies like this and findings published earlier this year by Grill and colleagues all the more important.
Researchers, including those at UCI MIND, continue to perform important work, not only to change the way we treat Alzheimer’s disease, but also to instruct the optimal clinical care and public health associated with using such treatments. To learn more about participation in clinical trials or studies like this, call 949.824.0008 and join the UCI C2C Registry.
