New Neuroscience Clinical Trials Center To Aid Patients with Rare Neurological Diseases

Physician-scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, have received a grant to establish a clinical site for the Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT). One of only 25 federally-funded centers like it in the country, the Einstein-Montefiore site was created in partnership with Einstein affiliates Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. The NeuroNEXT network and its centers were established through grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

NeuroNEXT was created to facilitate Phase II clinical trials — conducted to assess how well, and at what frequency and dosage a drug delivers effective results — for rare neurological diseases, which face difficulty securing funding from the industry, and recruiting and retaining participants. Should a promising drug be identified, enrolling enough participants requires the identification and enlistment of multiple sites nationwide, each of which can only contribute a few patients. In addition, each has its own rigorous process in place to oversee such research. For more information, click here to read the full release.