Clinical dementia trials in Norway – capacity, facilities, and patient base

Clinical and Organisational

• High trust in the healthcare system and strong public willingness to participate in clinical trials among the population
• Low screening failure rate in dementia trials
• Low drop-out (<10% - Oslo University Hospital reports zero drop-out in several industry trials)
• Rapid feasibility process
• Spinal puncture as part of clinical examination
• Strong clinical and scientific expertise with experience from phase I–IV trials

Infrastructure and Data

• Personal identification number enables linkage to data in health and population registries
• High data quality and robust health data registries
• Nor-Kog: Norwegian register for individuals being assessed for cognitive symptoms in specialist healthcare: can be leverages to identify and recruit potential study participants, as well as to provide estimate of the expected number of eligible candidates 
• NorCRIN as national infrastructure and research support with common standardised procedures followed by all hospitals, contributing to quality, harmonisation, and efficient execution of clinical trials
• Universal public healthcare services provide broad and representative patient access

Research Ecosystem

• Strong research environments at several hospitals
• Several hospitals maintain consented lists/registries that enable future research contact and facilitate study recruitement  
• Highly qualified study personnel with GCP expertice
• Digital and traceable documentation (audit trail)

Patient Population – Incidence

• According to the report Incidence of Dementia in Norway (PDF, Norwegian), it was estimated that 29,000 new cases of dementia occurred in Norway in 2023, with the number of new cases expected to rise in the years ahead.
• 3 out of 4 patients undergoing an extended dementia assessment receive MRI scan, and 9 out of 10 complete the MMSE (NorKog, 2023)

Overview of hospitals and facilities - dementia trials

Go to the overview of central hospitals.