What is Clinical Research?

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Clinical research in neurodegenerative disease falls into two main categories:

1. Research aimed at understanding how the brain works
2. Research oriented towards understanding or treating specific diseases

Click here to see a listing of the research projects at the Memory and Aging Center. Click here for a NIH listing of nationwide clinical trials.

Different forms of neurodegenerative disease affect different parts of the brain and thus cause different types of impairments in thinking and movement. By examining the impaired and preserved functions across various diseases, we can improve our understanding of how brain functions are organized. Brain imaging adds to these studies by allowing us to measure the degree of injury in various parts of the brain in each person. Although specific diseases are often noted for their effects in one area of function, we learn most about the brain's functions by comparing them across different diseases.

In the case of disease-specific research, the purpose of some studies is to evaluate new treatments, while other studies improve our ability to make diagnoses with thorough history-taking and examination, brain imaging and sophisticated neuropsychological testing.

In order to take advantage of the most advanced methods available, much of this research is done in partnership with experts in related fields.

Click here to watch ABC7 News' "Understanding the Mysteries of Alzheimer's"

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