Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
While its effects may not be noticeable for years down the road, a new Alzheimer’s study could help to prevent nursing home abuse in San Marcos and other cities throughout the country. As the Alzheimer’s Association elucidates, elderly nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia often are subject to abuse and neglect. As such, if we can find a way to lower the rate of seniors who suffer from dementia, we might also then be able to lower the rate of nursing home abuse cases tied to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. A new study is hoping to accomplish just that. According to a recent article in SFGate, a study on Alzheimer’s aims to prevent the disease before it begins.
The A4 Study Aims to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
According to the article, Dr. Reisa Sperling, a researcher at Harvard Medical School who serves as the project director for the A4 Study, aims for it to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. What is the meaning behind the study’s name? It refers to “Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s.” Currently, there are more than 10,000 adults in the “Baby Boomer” generation who are entering into old age rapidly, and thus becoming at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. As Dr. Sperling explains, “I have witnessed the devastating effects of this disease in my work as a neurologist, as a clinical researcher and, sadly, in my own family.” Now, Dr. Sperling is undertaking prevention trials through the A4 Study that are designed “to try to stop memory loss before it begins.”
Who is eligible for the clinical trials? Unlike many clinical trials, the researchers behind the study are not necessarily looking for individuals who have symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Rather, the clinical trials are “for people who have the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease beginning in the brain but don’t yet have any symptoms of the disease.” As such, the A4 Study seeks health older adults, between the ages of 65-85, who may be at risk for Alzheimer’s.
Eligibility for the Study
There are more specific requirements for eligibility than just your age group. According to the A4 Study website, the following are the requirements for participation:
- Between the ages of 65 and 85;
- Normal thinking and memory abilities;
- Have an A4 study partner, meaning that there is someone with whom you are willing to have weekly contact and are willing to provide answers to questions once per year;
- Willing to receive IV infusions of a placebo for 39 months; and
- Willing to have your health monitored throughout the study through a variety of different assessment types, such as memory tests, ECGs, PET scans, MRI scans, blood tests, and urine tests.
Anyone who currently receives treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, or takes any medication related to the study, is not eligible for participation. Unfortunately, nursing home residents are not yet eligible for participation, either.
Is there a study near you? For residents of San Marcos and other parts of San Diego County, there is currently a study at the UCSD Shiley Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in La Jolla.
Contact a San Marcos Elder Abuse Lawyer
If you want to learn more about preventing elder abuse among Alzheimer’s patients, or to learn more about filing a nursing home abuse lawsuit, a San Marcos elder abuse attorney can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.
See Related Blog Posts:
LGBT Nursing Home Bill and Oceanside Residents
Patient Death Prompts California Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit
(image courtesy of Jean Gerber)
