John Peters said the clinical trial he participated in at the Kawartha Centre gave him parts of his life back.
John Peters wasn’t surprised when he started having trouble remembering things — he knew both his father and grandfather battled with Alzheimer’s.
“The only big difference was I never smoked,” said Peters. “I was not that kind of person at all, and I didn’t drink a lot either. Whereas my older family members who had been through the war and had much different lives were smokers and drinkers for sure.”
Peters, a retired environmental planner for Ontario Power Generation, approached his family doctor in Port Perry, who, after administering memory tests, sent him to the Kawartha Centre for healthy aging for an eventual June 2021 Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.
Despite his diagnosis, Peters was enthusiastic about the opportunity to do research and immediately signed up for the clinical trial for Donanemab, which he began in September 2021. During his clinical trial participation, Peters made the hour-long drive with his family from their Uxbridge farm to the Kawartha Centre in Peterborough every month for more than a year. The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation has awarded Peters the 2024 Citizen Scientist Cornerstone Award for his efforts.
The award is given to a clinical trial participant who has made extraordinary efforts to support local research and participate in a trial.
Peters conducted yearly bird breeding surveys and had a passion for science before joining the team at the Kawartha Centre. He quickly became interested in the Alzheimer’s research he was assisting with.
“It builds a plaque on your brain and prevents blood flow in certain areas,” said Peters. “At least in my simple understanding.”
Peters said he could watch the Donanemab peel away layers of debris on his brain.
“I watched the chemicals or the drugs that I took,” said Peters. “I watched them through the same lens as those machines. I could see the effect. It peeled away the scarring and the blockage. It was a really interesting learning experience.”
Peters has completed his clinical trial but intends to continue working closely with the Kawartha Centre.
“If I can help them with something else, do it,” said Peters. “I’m happy to make my body and my
life part of their research.”
Peters said his clinical trial and the Kawartha Centre have left his mind sharper than it was when he first received his diagnosis.
“I don’t feel disabled the way I did before,” said Peters. “I don’t have the same frustrations that I had before. I can read the newspaper now and then spend 20 minutes chatting with a friend a day later about the details. I couldn’t do that before.”
Peters said the Kawartha Centre has been a blessing and a special place.
“Often when I was getting my treatments there would be three or four other people in that room
over there sitting at tables and some of them couldn’t tell you their names,” said Peters. “But after a period of time, they were starting to come back.”
Jill MacPhee, the director of clinical operations at the Kawartha Centre, said the centre submitted 11 nominees for the Citizen Scientist Awards and was happily surprised to have a winner.
“There are hundreds of sites all over North America that are submitting people,” said MacPhee.
“We were absolutely thrilled to find out that John was a winner this year.”
MacPhee and the team at the Kawartha Centre became close with Peters over the years and celebrated his award with a cake.
“It’s exciting to see the recognition that he’s getting right now because often that’s unseen and unknown in our community,” said MacPhee. “Every single treatment for anything has to go through clinical trials.
Those clinical trials can’t happen if people don’t volunteer their time and bodies to try these medications.”
MacPhee said sometimes it can be challenging to find volunteers for clinical trials.
“There’s often some worry and concern and negative connotation around participating in research,” said MacPhee. “But without these volunteers, cures are not found.”
MacPhee said she has seen remarkable progress in the research for an Alzheimer’s cure in her 16 years at the centre.
“I often describe it as a puzzle,” said MacPhee. “It was like there was a thousand-piece puzzle on the table turned upside down. Now the puzzle is starting to take form.”
Peters said he would continue assisting the Kawartha Centre and would like to participate in another trial
“I can’t thank the Kawartha Centre folks enough for their interest and commitment,” said Peters.