25
Feb
Health trust looking for volunteers for national dementia trial
The body that runs mental health services in the Harrogate district is looking for volunteers to take part in a groundbreaking trial exploring the potential of blood tests to diagnose dementia.
The Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is taking part in a national initiative that seeks to address gaps in diagnosis and enhance early detection of dementia.
It is led by the READ-OUT (Real World Dementia Outcomes) research team at Dementias Platform UK (DPUK), an Oxford University-based partnership between 27 public, industry and third-sector organisations, with core funding from the Medical Research Council.
The READ-OUT study is part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge – a multimillion-pound initiative led by Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK, supported by funds raised by the People's Postcode Lottery, National Institute for Health and Care Research and Gates Ventures.
It aims to explore whether a panel of blood tests can complement existing diagnostic pathways in NHS memory clinics, helping clinicians provide faster and more accurate diagnoses for people living with dementia.
Who could be a volunteer?
University of Oxford senior clinical researcher Professor Vanessa Raymont, who is associate director of DPUK and co-lead of the READ-OUT study, said:
We’re in an incredibly exciting time for dementia research right now, with new drugs that can slow early Alzheimer’s disease.
Although these are not yet approved for use in the NHS, we urgently need to revolutionise the way we diagnose people in this country – it will be nothing short of disastrous if people are unable to get a diagnosis early enough to benefit from the new drugs, once they do become available. In addition, many people now want and need the more accurate diagnosis blood biomarkers could provide.
Blood biomarker tests could be the answer to this problem, and the good news is that the technology already exists. What we’re missing is the proof that they really do work in a real-world setting. Our team will be looking at a range of blood tests and we are actively recruiting participants in Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.
Participants will include a broad range of people including those from minority ethnic groups, the very elderly and people with other medical conditions. This will show us how the blood tests perform in different UK populations.
The team will assess multiple new and existing blood tests, looking at a range of dementia types including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies. The researchers will also look at whether the blood tests can help detect these diseases at various stages and if the results need to be interpreted differently in people from different ethnic backgrounds or with other health conditions such as kidney disease.
National effort
The first participants joined the study in Oxford in January 2025, marking the start of a nationwide drive to recruit over 3,100 participants from 33 DPUK sites across the UK.
These sites, located in NHS memory clinics and community buses, aim to recruit participants from a diverse range of communities, ensuring the research is inclusive and reflects the wider population.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS FoundationTrust runs a memory service from Alexander House in Knaresborough.
This research will provide vital evidence needed to integrate blood tests into routine clinical practice in the NHS, ultimately improving diagnosis speed and accuracy, and ensuring that more people in the region, and across the UK, receive timely treatments and support.
Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said:
This marks a pivotal moment in the fight against dementia and highlights the immense value of funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Anyone concerned about dementia symptoms should contact their GP or visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia.
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