Northwestern is recruiting participants as young as 55 to enroll in the AHEAD Study

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES, August 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Northwestern University is recruiting volunteers for a study testing an investigational treatment that aims to help prevent the earliest memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Eisai Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo), the AHEAD Study is the first Alzheimer’s disease research study to recruit people as young as 55 years old who are at risk of developing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease as they get older. It introduces a personalized approach that will tailor treatment dosing levels to a participant’s particular risk of memory loss related to Alzheimer’s disease.

“We know that changes in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease begin up to 20 years before a person notices symptoms, but until now, most clinical trials have included older patients who already have symptoms,” said Reisa Sperling, M.D., director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and co-principal investigator for the AHEAD Study. “By inviting younger participants without symptoms, we hope to help individuals who are at higher risk—such as people with family history—get ahead of the disease with early intervention. We also want to reach diverse communities to learn more about why people of color may be at higher risk of cognitive decline.”

The AHEAD Study consists of two different clinical trials testing the same investigational treatment (known as BAN2401 (lecanemab)). Participants are enrolled in one of the two trials based on the level of amyloid in their brain. Amyloid is a protein that builds up in people who can go on to have memory problems and develop Alzheimer’s disease.

“The tailored approach of this study, starting treatment years before memory loss has begun, has the potential to be a breakthrough in our aim to prevent Alzheimer’s disease,” said Brittanie Muse, Clinical Operations Manager at Northwestern. “It can potentially serve as a model to improve clinical trials in Alzheimer’s research and other diseases.”

The sixth leading cause of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s is the only disease among the top 10 causes of death that cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed. Currently, 230,000 Americans 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease in Illinois. Communities of color experience higher incidence of the disease than White communities, yet they remain underrepresented in clinical research.

The AHEAD Study seeks 1,165 participants from North America. The study has more than 100 study locations worldwide, including North America, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and Europe.

The trial is led by experts at the University of Southern California’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute, the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School.

For more information on eligibility requirements or to find a trial site location, visit AHEADstudy.org.

Research reported in this press release was supported by the NIH’s National Institute on Aging under award numbers R01AG054029 and R01AG061848. The AHEAD Study (Clinical Trial number NCT04468659) received funding from NIH and from nongovernmental sources. The content is solely the responsibility of the researchers and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

CONTACT: Melissa McGue
602-516-6026
MMcGue@MessagePartnersPR.com

About AHEAD / BAN2401 (lecanemab)
The AHEAD Study is made up of two different clinical trials testing the same investigational treatment (known as BAN2401, lecanemab) at different doses. During the study, participants will receive intravenous (IV) infusions of BAN2401 (lecanemab) tailored to their risk of developing memory loss, or a placebo, an inactive substance designed to mimic the appearance of the drug.

At different points in the study, participants have a PET scan (or Positron Emission Tomography brain scan) to look at amyloid and tau (another protein) in the brain. The PET scan takes pictures of participants’ brains, allowing researchers to see and track changes in amyloid and tau levels.

About BAN2401 (lecanemab)
BAN2401 (lecanemab) is a humanized monoclonal antibody for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that is the result of a strategic research alliance between Eisai and BioArctic AB (Headquarters: Sweden). BAN2401 (lecanemab) selectively binds to neutralize and eliminate soluble, toxic Aβ aggregates (protofibril) that are thought to contribute to the neurodegenerative process in AD. As such, BAN2401 (lecanemab) may have the potential to have an effect on disease pathology and to slow down the progression of the disease. Eisai obtained the global rights to study, develop, manufacture and market BAN2401 (lecanemab) for the treatment of AD pursuant to an agreement concluded with BioArctic in December 2007. Currently, a global clinical Phase III study (Clarity AD) of BAN2401 (lecanemab) in early AD is underway. Now also in a Phase III trial (AHEAD 3-45) for preclinical AD, BAN2401 (lecanemab) is being jointly developed by Eisai and Biogen Inc. (Headquarters: Cambridge, M.A.).

About the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium
The Alzheimer’s Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC) is a state-of-the-art infrastructure network established with funding by the NIA to support the conduct of clinical trials across the continuum of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The ACTC leverages the depth and breadth of AD clinical research teams at USC, Harvard, and the Mayo Clinic, as well as the considerable experience of investigators at 35 expert AD trial sites to provide an optimal infrastructure, utilizing centralized resources and shared expertise, to accelerate the development of effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD).

Melissa McGue
McCabe Message Partners
+1 602-516-6026
mmcgue@messagepartnerspr.com

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