Research shows Blacks are twice as likely as whites to develop Alzheimer’s.
And Black people typically make up fewer than 10% of participants in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s drugs.
Dr. Crystal Glover of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Chicago is working on a study, called the AHEADstudy, that is investigating why this is and aiming to make research more inclusive.
“Then we can get ahead of Alzheimer’s, especially focused on Black and African-American communities, so we can understand through research what is going on in their lived experiences, how can we address it, and how we can really prevent or delay memory loss,” she said.
The study is also designed to see if intervening before symptoms appear may prevent memory loss and dementia. It is looking for participants.
“You can go to AHEADstudy.org, that’s the national web site, that’s for all of the information there that you can understand about who’s eligible, how to enroll, different screening questions,” she said.
Locally, she said the study is being conducted at Columbia and Mount Sinai.
Glover said there are things all of us can do to help ward off this disease. Her advice: Take care of the heart-to-head highway.
“That means what is good for your heart is good for your head,” she said. “So if you have Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, higher cholesterol, one go to your doctor, provider, understand if you have those issues then control those issues through a combination of diet, exercise and medication.”