Digital health technologies and Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: might decentralized clinical trials increase participation by people with cognitive impairment?

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) face many obstacles-particularly with regard to screening and recruitment. DISCUSSION: Decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) are being developed in other diseases and appear to be of value for overcoming these difficulties. The use of remote visits offers hope of broader recruitment and thus a reduction in inequalities due to age, geography, and ethnicity. Furthermore, it might be easier to involve primary care providers and caregivers in DCTs. However, further studies are needed to determine the feasibility of DCTs in AD. A mixed-model DCT might constitute the first step towards completely remote trials in AD and should be assessed first.