Jared Paventi lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s.

“It’s difficult when the person that helped raise you who was a very big part of your life is not able to do much more than sit in a wheelchair and stare off,” Paventi said.

The degenerative disease begins by attacking brain cells, and is often deadly. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

“You lose them twice, once mentally and then physically,” said Paventi.

But what if cases such as these could be prevented?  A new clinical trial study is underway by Upstate Medical Center called MIND or Memory Improvement through Nicotine Dosing.

It’s already started nationwide recently, but is now available in Central New York.

“There is no need to travel to big cities to participate in this study,” said Center of Alzheimer’s Disease Director Dr. Sharon Brangman said. “[The study] is looking to see if giving someone nicotine through a patch will help improve their memory.”

If you are nervous about nicotine, Brangman says the nicotine patch won't carry the tar and chemicals that tobacco has. All of which are harmful.

“The nicotine we are using is different in that it is medicinal,” she added, “It is not in doses that can cause addiction.”

300 people over the age of 55 will be studied over a course of two years to gauge the treatment's effectiveness.

“What we are looking for is people who have mild cognitive impairment,” Brangman said. “We’ve started to identify mild cognitive impairment as a pathway to Alzheimer’s disease in some people.”

Mild cognitive impairment is identified by things such as memory loss.

Memory tests conducted by a medical team will let you know if you qualify for this potentially life-saving clinical study.

“Even if you could slow the disease or delay the disease you would be saving billions of dollars of Medicaid and Medicare,” said Paventi. “(Also) Families would have all that more time with their loved one.”

He said he wished he had more time with his grandmother, but being a part of an era where we are hopefully closer to finding a cure for the incurable is a blessing.

Potential study volunteers can learn more, including how to enroll, by visiting the MIND study website at MINDstudy.org, calling (315) 464-3285 or by emailing GeriResearch@upstate.edu