New JAMA study an example of how diseases can affect minority populations differently. Find out what's being done to help solve this problem. Experts available @clinrespathways and Morehouse School of Medicine @msmedu for interviews.

Work being done at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, funded by non-profit Clinical Research Pathways, is aimed at addressing a health equity challenge outlined in a Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology (JAMA) report. In a new study released this week and reported by NPR (link to story below), Washington University researchers suggest Alzheimer's Disease develops differently in African-Americans. The biological clues revealed in the new research helps explain why African Americans appear to be more vulnerable to Alzheimer's than white Americans. This type of health inequity points to the overall need for more diversity in clinical trials - since illnesses do affect some populations differently - and some minorities can react differently to newly developed drugs. Two experts are available to discuss the issue with journalists: Marjorie A. Speers, Ph.D. and executive director of Clinical Research Pathways, and Dr. Priscilla Pemu of Morehouse School of Medicine. Under a project led by Dr. Pemu, more minority physicians are being trained and encouraged to lead clinical trials. The ultimate goal is for these physicians to educate their minority patients, within the trusted patient-physician relationship, about clinical trials and why they should consider participating, when appropriate.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/07/682036486/study-suggests-alzheimer-s-disease-may-work-differently-in-african-americans