READ-OUT has selected sites across all four nations of the UK to take part, aiming to achieve both geographic and community diversity amongst its participants.
The DPUK study is led by Professor Vanessa Raymont, Professor James Rowe, and Associate Professor Dr Ivan Koychev. The READ-OUT (REAl world Dementia OUTcomes team is investigating multiple existing and novel blood tests (including amyloid beta 42/40 and p-tau217), covering a range of dementia types such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies.
The 15 sites now actively recruiting participants are:
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
- ReMind UK Bath
- Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS Trust
- St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
- North Bristol NHS Trust
- Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Devon Partnership NHS Trust
- South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
At each of the sites the clinical teams have been trained and patient volunteers who meet the criteria for the study will be invited to participate.
Professor Vanessa Raymont, Associate Director at Dementias Platform UK and senior clinical researcher at the University of Oxford, said: "Having fifteen active sites is an important step forward for the READ-OUT project. With centres now spread across England and Wales (and soon in Scotland as well), we can work with people from many different communities. This helps ensure our research findings will be useful for everyone. Each new site helps us move closer to our goal of improving how all diseases that can lead to dementia are diagnosed in the NHS".
Research Approach
The READ-OUT project (REAl-world Dementia OUTcomes) combines expertise from Dementias Platform UK researchers at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London. The team is assessing multiple blood tests to find effective and affordable methods for diagnosing different types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies.
This research could improve dementia diagnosis, offering more accessible and accurate options that might be used in the NHS within five years.
Why This Work Matters
About one-third of the UK's one million people with dementia do not have a diagnosis. This research addresses this problem, as early and accurate diagnosis helps people get the right care and support.
The Blood Biomarker Challenge
The READ-OUT project has received £4.5 million from Blood Biomarker Challenge - a multi-million-pound research programme supported by Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Gates Ventures, and players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Its goal is to bring blood tests for dementia diagnosis into the NHS by 2029.
Two teams of researchers are studying blood tests that have shown the most promise in research settings and evaluating whether they work for people referred to NHS memory clinics with signs and symptoms of dementia.
The Challenge will generate robust evidence to help the NHS adopt these tests as part of standard diagnostic care, increasing the proportion of patients who know which type of dementia they have.
Join the Research
Volunteers from all backgrounds are needed for this research to continue. If you would like to help, you can register your interest in the READ-OUT project or other brain health studies through DPUK's volunteer programmes. If you are not suited for the READ-OUT study, you can still make a difference as a volunteer on other studies. Everyone expressing an interest can play a valuable part in our quest to find treatments and a cure for dementia.