For people getting on a bus for a memory screening Friday, the process was relatively simple: answer questions, complete a cognitive assessment and have blood drawn.
But behind the quick evaluation was a larger goal — identifying people who may be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease and connecting them with research that could help scientists understand how to prevent it.
Renstar Medical Research joined Bellam Medical Clinic and THOR East, a Florida-based mobile research unit, in Dunnellon on Friday to offer free memory screenings and brain-health resources.
The mobile unit (Taking Health On the Road) is operated by the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation and visits a different community each month with the goal of improving access to brain-health education, services and Alzheimer’s clinical research.
The researchers are particularly interested in finding people between the ages of 55 and 80 who are cognitively unimpaired; those who have not noticed significant changes in their memory but may still be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
“The reason for this is because we're trying to stay ahead of the disease progression rate,” said Laura Dominguez, a neurology recruiter at Renstar Medical Research.
That could include someone with a family history of Alzheimer’s who has no noticeable memory changes, or someone without a family history who simply wants to better understand their potential risk.
The screening process takes about an hour to an hour and a half, according to Dominguez. Participants complete a cognitive assessment called the International Shopping List Test and have blood drawn for a test called p-tau 217.
The blood test measures phosphorylated tau, or p-tau 217, a protein associated with biological changes involved in Alzheimer’s disease. This test can provide researchers with information about potential changes in the brain through a simple blood sample.
The initial screening, however, does not determine whether someone will develop Alzheimer’s disease.
After the evaluation, participants are contacted and told whether they meet the criteria to continue screening for a prevention trial.
“It doesn't mean one way or the other that they're definitely going to progress to Alzheimer's disease, or that they're never going to progress,” Dominguez said.
People who continue into the research screening process undergo additional clinical and cognitive assessments. They also receive more blood work, genetic testing and diagnostic imaging to determine whether they have underlying biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
LynnMarie Lusk, a physician and the community relations manager at Renstar Medical Research, said that the screening can give some peace of mind.
“If they participate in this, and their cognitive scores are out of the stratosphere, then they’ve got peace of mind that, you know what, at this stage in your life, you’re good,” Lusk said.
The event also reflects a larger challenge in Alzheimer’s research: getting enough people to participate.
“It's actually quite sad, the amount of participants that we have globally that participate in research, specifically Alzheimer's research, is extraordinarily low when you consider just how many people are living with the disease,” Dominguez said.
The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, which operates the mobile research unit with Renstar, is working to make participation more accessible to communities that may otherwise have fewer opportunities to contribute to research.
Dominguez said the purpose is to “not only educate the communities, but educate the physicians who aren't aware of a lot of these various simple blood tests that can be done that can provide a risk analysis for these patients.”
“People get routine exams for all of their organs, it seems like,” Dominguez said. “And the brain is just that forgotten organ, which is wild because it literally powers everything.”
The goal ultimately extends beyond the people screened on Friday.
“Their participation in this study or in this pre-screening will help contribute to scientific research that could help them and their future generations,” Lusk said.
Participants who eventually enroll in a clinical trial receive regular monitoring from health professionals at no cost to them or their insurance, according to Lusk. The sponsor, Roche, an international healthcare company dedicated to stopping and curing diseases, covers it all.
“Right now, we don't have anything that's curative for Alzheimer's or other dementias,” Dominguez said. “I'm very hopeful that that will change sooner rather than later, but we don't get there without willing participants.”
The hope is that bringing screenings and research opportunities directly to underserved communities such as Dunnellon will make education and participation more accessible.
“Science is advancing,” Dominguez said. “And we don't advance science without people.”