More than 5 million Americans—including 210,000 Illinois residents—currently suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and scientists expect this number to nearly triple by 2050. Experts say African Americans are two to three times more likely than white Americans to develop the disease, yet are less likely to be diagnosed.
To help raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and the impact it has on the African American community, Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center, and African Americans Against Alzheimer’s are bringing the award-winning play, Forget Me Not, to Chicago. The play takes the audience into the life of an African American family facing Alzheimer’s disease and shows how the disease impacts everyone, from immediate family to friends and the African American community-at-large.
A panel discussion with the director and local Alzheimer’s experts will immediately follow the performance. They will answer important questions about medical and social services available in the community, and talk about local research opportunities, including the A4 Study—a landmark trial that seeks to prevent the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms ever appear.
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The A4 Study (Anti-Amyloid in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s Study) takes a new approach to Alzheimer’s research by screening for an elevated level of a protein known as ‘amyloid’ in the brain. Researchers believe that amyloid plaques build up in a person’s brain years before symptoms appear. The premise of the A4 trial is to clear out the amyloid before brain cells have been damaged—much in the same way people with high cholesterol are given statin drugs to head off cardiovascular disease and heart attack.
“Amyloid is thought to be one of the signature markers for Alzheimer’s disease, which is why we are testing whether a new treatment that targets these plaques can slow the progression of memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Sandra Weintraub, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Principal Investigator for the A4 Study at Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center. “Ultimately, we want to give people something they can do, a way to fight back against this horrible disease.”
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Northwestern and Rush are both looking for volunteers for the A4 Study, which is testing whether an investigational drug that targets amyloid plaques in the brain can help to slow the progression of memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s. However, another major emphasis of the study is to help determine why certain populations, including African Americans, are more likely than others to develop the disease.
“It is extremely important that the Chicago community get involved with this study,” said Dr. Neelum Aggarwal, Associate Professor of Neurological Sciences and Principal Investigator for the A4 Study at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. “Before we can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, we need to understand why African Americans develop it in such high numbers.”
This production of Forget Me Not is part of a national campaign by African Americans Against Alzheimer’s—and sponsored by the A4 Study—to help educate the African American community about Alzheimer’s disease and increase minority participation in clinical trials. Currently, African Americans make up more than 13 percent of the population, but are only five percent of clinical trials participants. This number is even lower for older African Americans.
“We need to come together to increase minority participation—and African American participation in particular—in clinical trials,” said Stephanie Monroe, Director of African Americans Against Alzheimer’s. “It’s the only way to ensure that new drugs, treatments and therapies are both safe and effective for our community.”
There will be two Chicago performances of the play: 2 pm on Tuesday, July 14 and 10 am on Wednesday, July 15. Both shows are FREE to the public and held at the DuSable Museum of African American History. To reserve a ticket for Forget Me Not and to learn other tour cities, please call 202-349-3803 or register online. Potential A4 Study volunteers can learn more about the study, including how to enroll, by visiting the A4 website atA4Study.org.
