Georgetown residents show high interest in participating in Alzheimer's and dementia study

Dell Medical School at The University of Texas Austin held its second public interest meeting on conducting a memory loss cohort study with Georgetown residents Jan. 31.

Survey results conducted between October and December to gauge public interest in participating in a long-term research study were presented during the meeting.

Results showed that of 279 respondents, 85% were interested in memory and learning activities associated with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The survey allowed takers to select multiple interests and also found that 72% of respondents were interested in exercise and diet and nutrition as it relates to memory loss.

In addition, 95% of respondents were willing to be assessed in cognitive testing and giving blood samples. The multiselect survey also found that 84% were willing to participate in genetic testing, and 78% were willing to participate in neuroimaging studies.

Alyssa Aguirre, manager of the Cognitive Disorders Center at the Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences at Dell Medical School, said that the results make sense, as oftentimes, people want to be proactive and learn how they can prevent the disease from occurring.

The study, which would be conducted and partially funded through the Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences at Dell Medical School, is in its early stages and would still need to be designed before it begins, Aguirre said.

Aguirre said she hopes that resident input will help the school to have studies designed around resident interests.

Other questions found that 94% of people were willing to volunteer as a participant of the study, and 89% of people were willing to be assessed every six months.

For more on the study, click here.