The Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium has launched a registry they say could lead to earlier diagnosis of, and new treatments for, Alzheimer's disease.

The Alzheimer's Research Registry is a database aimed at recruiting participants and matching them with studies. It is expected to reduce the time it takes to complete study enrollment by 300 percent.

The registry is open to English-speaking Arizona residents ages 50 and older, with or without impairments of memory or cognition. Even if individuals do not initially qualify for a study, they will remain on file for future studies.

Dr. Pierre Tariot of Banner Health told Arizona Republic that the registry is unique in the nation because the effort represents so many Alzheimer's research centers.

Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium is a statewide collaboration between Arizona State University, Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Barrow Neurological Institute, Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Sun Health Research Institute, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), and University of Arizona.

According to Dr. Eric Reiman, director of the consortium and executive director of Banner Alzheimer's Institute, the group represents 150 researchers and 500 research grants.

"We're hoping to develop the largest clinical-trials resource in the world," Reiman told Arizona Republic. "Our goal is to end Alzheimer's in the next 12 years."

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For more information:

"Medical studies booming in state," Arizona Republic, 03/22/2007

"Alzheimer's Consortium develops registry to boost research," Business Journal, 03/21/2007