Exploring Alzheimer’s Disease and a Clinical Trial

Sponsored by Merck 

Have you or someone you love been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that affects memory, thinking and behavior.¹ It’s the most common cause of dementia, which is a word used to describe memory loss and other thinking problems that affect daily life.¹

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are different from person to person.² The most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include memory loss, trouble finding words or speaking, difficulty learning new things or solving problems and changes in mood or personality.² Since Alzheimer’s disease gets worse over time, the symptoms of dementia also slowly get worse and become more severe.¹

Understanding the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on different communities

Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately seven million people in the U.S.³ Interestingly, Black Americans aged 65 or older are nearly twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s disease compared to white Americans the same age.³ Additionally, Alzheimer’s disease is more common among women than men, and women make up approximately two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S.³

“Factors like age, gender, weight, race and ethnicity may affect how people respond to the same medicine,” said Alana Miller, clinical trial diversity program lead at Merck. “It’s important that we enroll a broad and diverse community of people in clinical trials, so we can better understand whether investigational drugs are safe and work well for people from communities that may be impacted by the disease being studied.”

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Clinical trial enrolling adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease dementia 

There is a clinical trial underway that is evaluating an investigational drug for adults living with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Researchers are evaluating whether the investigational drug is safe and may work well compared to placebo, when people take it with their current Alzheimer’s disease dementia medicine.

Researchers are looking for people to join the MK-1167-008 (NCT06721156) clinical trial. To qualify for this clinical trial, participants must be 55 to 90 years old and:

• Have mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease dementia; 
• Be taking a type of medicine for Alzheimer’s disease dementia called a cholinergic medicine, such as donepezil, galantamine or rivastigmine;
• Have a trial partner/caregiver who can attend all trial visits;
• Meet additional criteria for the trial that will be assessed by the study doctor.

Participation in the clinical trial is voluntary, and people are free to leave at any time. Participant privacy will be maintained throughout the trial. 

If someone qualifies for the clinical trial, they will receive the investigational drug or placebo (a placebo looks like the investigational drug, but has no active ingredients) and study-related medical exams at no cost. Please note that participants may or may not directly benefit from study participation. The study doctor can answer any questions and discuss the possible risks and benefits of participation.

Merck is committed to researching and developing investigational medicines to see whether they may help treat, slow progression or prevent central nervous system disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.

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For more information, visit www.merckclinicaltrials.com/alzheimersdiseasetrial.

References

1. Alzheimer’s Association. What is Alzheimer’s Disease? Accessed May 23, 2025. 

2. National Institute on Aging. Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet. Accessed May 23, 2025.

3. Alzheimer’s Association. 2025 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Accessed May 23, 2025.