More participants needed to complete UK-led Alzheimer’s disease drug trial

People with Alzheimer’s disease are already
helping with a ground-breaking government-funded trial led by academics from
the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Queen’s University Belfast and
University College London, and hosted by North Bristol NHS Trust, but even more
people are needed to take part in the study.

The research study, known as RADAR
(Reducing
pathology in Alzheimer’s
Disease
through Angiotensin
taRgeting)
is investigating if a drug normally used to treat high blood pressure
(hypertension) has additional properties that could slow down the progression
of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in people with and without hypertension.
Approximately almost half a million people in the UK have
Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia that affects and
memory and brain function in older individuals.

The trial, which was designed following the
Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, £2 million by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME)
Programme, an MRC and NIHR partnership.

RADAR is a multi-centre clinical trial that is
investigating if losartan, a blood pressure drug that first became available in
1995, can complement current treatments for AD. The researchers believe
losartan can slow down the progression of AD by improving brain blood flow and
altering chemical pathways that cause brain cell damage, brain shrinkage and
memory problems in AD.

Recruitment for the RADAR trial, now open at 23
sites across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, has been extended across
the until the end of February 2018 and with 140 participants already taking
part in the study, the researchers need another 90 people to sign up to
complete the study.

The RADAR study is a double-blinded placebo-controlled randomised trial, meaning that
some participants will be randomly assigned to receive either the study drug,
losartan, or a placebo (an identical looking pill with no active medicine) once
a day for 12 months. Nobody, including the doctors and nurses involved,
will know until the study is analysed who received which. This is one of the
most powerful study designs available.

Initially all participants who are eligible to
enrol will receive two weeks of losartan and then two weeks of the placebo to
ensure they are happy taking the medication before entering the year-long trial.

People with Alzheimer’s disease who have high
or normal blood pressure can take part if they meet certain eligibility
criteria and RADAR will use brain imaging to measure whether losartan reduces
the rate of brain shrinkage normally occurs in AD. It will also be using
what are standard questionnaires on memory performance and quality of life –
important indicators of whether the drug might be helpful.

The trial will assess rate of whole brain
shrinkage on MRI scan compared between participants on losartan and those on
placebo. The researchers will also examine differences in brain blood flow,
memory tests, day-to-day quality of life and changes in blood protein levels.

Professor
Pat Kehoe, Gestetner Professor of Translational Dementia
Research at the University of Bristol, leading the trial gave an update
on the study on 14 July at a symposium on Vascular Factors in Dementia and Neurodegeneration
in London, hosted by the International Society of Vascular, Behavioural and
Cognitive Disorders (Vas-Cog Society).

Professor Kehoe
said:

“With an ageing population, and as we are still in search of longer
acting and effective treatments, the provision for Alzheimer’s disease care
will continue to increase, which will greatly impact on NHS healthcare costs
and resources.

“We are delighted with the confidence our
funders have placed on us by agreeing to extend the study as it gives patients
and their carers the opportunity to take part and help realise the potential of
this UK-based trial. The scientific case is there but we now really need
people with Alzheimer’s disease to come forward and offer to take part as their
involvement is essential to helping scientists find out if losartan could be a
future treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

“What a lot people may not realise, even if
they are seeing a doctor regularly to have their Alzheimer’s treated, because
of rules around data protection and privacy unless they voice their interest to
take part in research, doctors, nurses and researchers working on various
trials like RADAR are not always able to contact them to invite them to take
part and so many people may miss out on opportunities to participate in
research that may find new treatments.”

Sandra, a carer for her husband Martin who are
participants of the RADAR study, said:

“It was a real shock when Martin was
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and it has taken some time to come to terms
with the diagnosis and disease.

“Even though we know the study can’t help
Martin, being part of the trial is important as it could help future generations.
I hope that it’s not long before a drug can be found to treat or keep
Alzheimer’s disease at bay and research is important to make that happen.”

If members of the public are interested in
participating in the study, they can find the location and contact details of
all of RADAR’s participating NHS sites on www.radar-trial.org.uk. Further information about the study can also be found here as well as a chance
to contact the study team. People can also lend their encouragement and
follow the progress of the trial on Twitter @RADARTrialAD.

Members of the public interested in other
research opportunities in relation to Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of
dementia can also register with the new Join Dementia Research
initiative, hosted by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

The Join Dementia Research service allows
anyone with and without dementia to sign up using basic demographic and health
information and be matched to dementia research studies in their area. Research
teams can then approach potential volunteers about their particular study and
the volunteer can decide whether to take part on a case-by-case basis.