In February, ADI organised the second in a series of global webinars on participation in dementia research and clinical trials. The aim of the series is to demystify the process of clinical trials through an open dialogue between the public, health and social care professional, researchers and the pharmaceutical industry.
Over 200 people from 52 countries joined us to discuss “Global Barriers and Access to Trials,with over half of the participants joining from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The conversation built upon the themes of our first webinar and explored the types of advocacy needed to ensure that people living with dementia have the best possible chance of participating in clinical trials both in LMICs and high-income countries.
We were pleased to be joined by an international panel including Professor Miia Kivipelto, who shared insights from the multi-domain intervention The Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER). Elizabeth Mutunga, CEO and Founder of the Alzheimer and Dementia Organisation in Kenya, and Rochelle Armour, Research Fellow at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research and Recovery in Jamaica and Assistant Director for Alzheimer Jamaica both joined via video link, as did Behavioural Neurologist, Silvia Rios Romenets, who is currently running the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative (API) Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer’s Disease (ADAD) trial in Colombia. Dr Jill Rasmussen, Primary Care Specialist in psychiatry, neurology and learning disability and Independent Consultant in CNS research provided a UK primary care and regulatory perspective. The webinar was co-moderated by Professor Craig Ritchie from the University of Edinburgh and ADI’s CEO Paola Barbarino.
During the discussion, we asked participants which types of research they would like to see prioritised. While the answers were relatively split, it was interesting that over half of respondents (53%) supported multi-domain intervention approaches, closely followed by new therapies and innovation (33%). Other discussion points included how to fund research in LMICs and ensure that it takes place. Our next webinar will take place on 10 May 2019. Sign up to the ADI mailing list for more information. Recordings of both webinars in the series are available here.
Pictured:Webinar panellists: (L-R) Dr Jill Rasmussen, Professor Craig Ritchie, Professor Miia Kivipelto, ADI CEO Paola Barbarino. Also pictured on laptop screen: Rochelle Amour, Silvia Ríos Romenets and Elizabeth Kasimu Mutunga