Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are how new treatments are tested.

UCSF is conducting research on the potential benefits of lecanemab for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease as part of the National Institutes of Health-funded AHEAD Study. Individuals who may be interested in participating in this study at UCSF can contact our clinical trials team.

Clinical trials are how new treatments are tested. UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center (MAC) runs selected clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy and Huntington’s disease. Your participation helps us evaluate these potential therapeutics. If one of our trials looks interesting to you, please talk with your doctor or contact the study team to see if it is appropriate for you. If you would like more information, you may find the booklet, Clinical Trials and Older Adults, published by the National Institute on Aging helpful for describing how older adults can volunteer for research studies.

You can also search for other clinical trials at UCSF or check the NIH site, ClinicalTrials.gov.

You can contact the UCSF Memory and Aging Center Clinical Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia Trials Program at:

[email protected]
415.353.3585
The Boxer Lab

For Huntington's disease and ataxia trials, please contact [email protected].

For prion studies, please contact [email protected].

Trials for People with Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Completed Clinical Trials

The clinical trials we have completed here at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center highlight some of our experience with a range of treatments, populations, diseases and environments.

Alzheimer’s Disease (Mild to Moderate)

Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS)

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)

  1. Assessed the safety and tolerability of long-term treatment with memantine in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) or semantic dementia (SD)
  2. Determined whether memantine is effective in slowing the rate of cognitive decline in frontotemporal dementia
  3. Evaluated whether memantine delays or decreases the emergence of parkinsonism in frontotemporal dementia.

Lastly, the study was designed to determine whether treatment with memantine affects change in weight.

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)