A Big Alzheimer's Drug Study Is Proceeding Cautiously, Despite The Pandemic

"It's been a struggle of course," says Joshua Grill, who directs the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders at the University of California, Irvine. "But I think there's an imperative for us to find ways to move forward."

Grill got a close-up view of the challenge in July, when COVID-19 cases were spiking nationwide just as he was trying to launch a study.

UC Irvine and dozens of other research centers had just begun enrolling participants in the AHEAD study, a global effort that will test whether an investigational drug can slow down the earliest brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease.