READ-OUT Observational Study

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    READ-OUT – REAl world Dementia OUTcomes: Observational Study

  • IRAS ID

    342412

  • Contact name

    Vanessa Raymont

  • Contact email

    vanessa.raymont@psych.ox.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Oxford / Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    4 years, 11 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    A dementia diagnosis is usually made from speaking with patients and families, memory testing, and brain scans. While these methods are effective in identifying whether someone has dementia, they are not reliable when it comes to the cause of the condition or how it may progress in future.

    Blood tests are a promising way to improve the diagnosis of dementia. But the research so far had participants who do not reflect real-world patient populations (for example in terms of their ethnicity or having other common illnesses).

    Here, we aim to assess the usefulness of blood-based tests for dementia. The READ-OUT Observational Study investigates blood tests in people seen in memory clinics across the United Kingdom, for a wide variety of dementias and other memory problems. It will focus a lot of its recruitment from people from backgrounds that are not often involved in research: very elderly, ethnic minorities, those in deprived areas or with multiple illnesses, etc. We will also assess whether these tests are good value for money for the NHS. The project will show if blood biomarkers are useful for people attending NHS memory clinics.

  • REC name

    Wales REC 7

  • REC reference

    24/WA/0330

  • Date of REC Opinion

    28 Oct 2024

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion