SUN CITY, Ariz. (March 26, 2025) -- Bud Wilson and Deborah Fink have traveled the globe together since they married 33 years ago.
Deborah’s face lights up while sharing photos of their adventures in the Amazon, Thailand, Egypt and Turkey. But three years ago, they found themselves on an entirely different kind of journey.
“Bud retired and we thought we’d really do some exploring of the world, but then he was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia,” she said.
Their search for treatment eventually led the couple to routinely travel from their home in Anchorage, Alaska, to receive specialty medical care at Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Ariz. They also took part in a clinical trial for about seven months in 2024.
Bud participated in SHIMMER, a second-phase study of a potential new treatment for people with mild to moderate Lewy body dementia, or LBD. Deborah was his study partner.
LBD is one of the most common types of dementia and affects more than 1 million people in the U.S. There is currently no cure for the disease, which is associated with abnormal deposits of a protein in the brain. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemical changes in the brain that can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior, mood, and other body functions.
Bud and Deborah helped to advance research while receiving study-related care, tests and assessments. For about three months, they flew to Arizona every two weeks for the study, then about once each month until finishing the trial. They knew that would be quite a commitment, especially with the big difference in climates.
“Alaska summers are wonderful, and Arizona summers are brutal,” Deborah said, but emphasized that all the effort was worthwhile. “Clinical trials give you hope, and when you have a disease that’s progressive, that doesn’t have any cure, having hope is super important. You always have to look at the positive side of things, to move yourself forward.
“The folks at Banner are wonderful,” Deborah said. “I could hardly find nicer people. They are really good at what they do, very warm and non-clinical.”
Deborah and Bud were excited to learn the SHIMMER trial was recently highlighted during a medical conference in Amsterdam involving dementia researchers.
“That kind of gives you a little oomph,” she said. “You get a thrill thinking, ‘I’m part of that group, part of that compilation of data that’s being shared with all these practitioners around the world.’ That’s very cool.”
For more info about Banner’s clinical trials, click here.
Since 1986, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, part of nonprofit Banner Health, has been a leader nationally and internationally in the effort to find answers to disorders of aging including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The institute’s Cleo Roberts Center for Clinical Research takes laboratory discoveries to clinical trials that foster hope for new treatments. Banner Health is Arizona’s leading health care provider and largest private employer. For more information, visit bannershri.com or visit us on Facebook.
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