Clinical trials are the engine that powers medical progress. Through clinical trials, researchers test new ways to detect, treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Without clinical trials, there can be no new treatments or cures.
Over the last 15 years, scientists have made enormous strides in understanding how Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain. Currently, the drugs available for the treatment of Alzheimer’s only temporarily improve the symptoms of the disease; they do not stop the damage to brain cells that causes Alzheimer’s to progress.
http://www.alzheimers-illinois.org/enewsletter/june2012/trialmatch.asp