Celebrating World Brain Day and why it matters to clinical trials
Each year on July 22, the global medical community comes together to mark World Brain Day, a campaign led by the World Federation of Neurology to raise awareness of brain health and the unseen challenges of neurological disorders.
For those of us working in clinical development, this day is more than just symbolic. It is a moment to reflect on the urgency of advancing treatments – especially for those who struggle to advocate for themselves, or who face the challenges of degenerative conditions. And that progress hinges on one critical success factor, the ability to enroll and retain the right patients in clinical trials.
At Clariness, we’ve supported more than 50 neurology trials worldwide. We understand just how difficult it can be to identify, reach, and convert patients living with cognitive or motor neuron related disorders. Not only this, but we understand the impact and importance of neurological research every day, not just on World Brain Day. To quote the President of the World Federation of Neurology, Professor Wolfgang Grisold, “Brain health isn’t a moment in time – it’s a lifelong commitment.”
However, to mark this important day, we’re sharing 3 logical approaches to neurological patient recruitment, to share how clinical trial organizers can adapt their strategies to reach and randomize even more patients for such important research.
Clariness’ logical approaches, to neurological patient recruitment
1. Find patients where they train their brains
Patients dealing with cognitive decline, early dementia, or neurodegenerative diseases often turn to brain training tools and games to stay mentally active. Brain training apps and Sudoku / crossword websites, attract users who are already engaged with brain health.
By engaging people in spaces where they’re already focused on their condition and actively seeking care, we help accelerate the path to finding eligible participants – those who are informed, proactive and more likely to take part in clinical trials.
We typically find that those who are taking active steps to improve their health outcomes are more likely to participate in a clinical trial. The most cited motivation for clinical trial participation is finding a treatment that can improve their health. If you can drive traffic to study landing pages or trial websites, you can educate potential patients about the study and also begin explaining the altruistic nature of trials, as this is the second most cited trial participation motivator.
These channels work best as part of a broader marketing mix – not everyone doing a Sunday crossword is managing a neurological condition. Still, targeting those actively pursuing better health drives higher enrollment and retention, as they’re already motivated.
Ultimately, ROI matters. These approaches have delivered proven results in past Clariness campaigns, helping us successfully randomize patients across 50+ neurological conditions.
2. Target early symptom keywords, not just diagnoses
Neurological patients don’t always know what they have, especially those in early stages of a condition (which are sometimes critical to inclusion/exclusion criteria of studies). However, they often know what they’re feeling.
Patients often search for “trouble concentrating,” “burning feet at night,” or “why do I forget words”, well before searching “early-onset Alzheimer’s” or “peripheral neuropathy.” It is often the close loved ones of patients who search for diagnosis keywords pre-diagnosis, patients experiencing the symptoms, will search directly of the symptoms they’re experiencing. So, if your recruitment efforts focus only on condition-specific terminology, especially those that are considered technical terms, you are very likely missing large segments of eligible patients still in the early stages of awareness.
Clariness integrates symptom keywords into our online strategy to meet patients earlier in their journey. For example, a patient experiencing facial twitching or imbalance might not yet associate those symptoms with Parkinson’s, but they may click on trial content that names those experiences and offers answers, as we always try to deliver educational content alongside our study websites and landing pages, including FAQs on symptoms.
Symptom-first content also educates patients in a non-alarming way. Instead of jumping toa diagnosis, it opens the door for exploration and offers the option to take a pre-screener or learn more about clinical research. This approach supports early conversion and builds trust at a critical moment of vulnerability.
3. Reach caregivers, not just patients
In many neurological conditions – especially those involving cognitive or motor decline – it is the caregiver who becomes the real decision-maker. When a patient is struggling with memory, mobility, or complex medication regimens, it is often a spouse, child, relative who coordinates care, and seeks out alternative treatments. Even professional carers will pass on relevant information they have heard or seen.
Caregivers are frequently active online, engaging in public forums, Reddit communities, and disease-specific spaces where they share tips, express frustrations, seek information from others in similar situations, looking for hope. These digital spaces provide a powerful channel for trial awareness, especially when campaigns are built with compassionate messaging that centers on easing caregiver burden and offering access to new care options.
At Clariness, we tailor recruitment campaigns specifically to reach caregivers. This includes custom creative that speaks directly to their experience, simplified eligibility messaging, and streamlined referral pathways that let a caregiver refer those who they care for into a trial. In some parts of the world where access to advanced treatments is limited, caregivers will see clinical trials as a way to access medical care, they just need to know the option exists to take a chance on it.
When recruitment focuses solely on the patient, these decision makers are often excluded, and in later stage neurological conditions, direct to patient marketing is going to yield little to no return. But when caregivers are activated, they can become advocates and even champions for trial participation.
Clariness delivers logical patient recruitment
World Brain Day reminds us of the need to push forward research, innovation, and hope for people affected by neurological conditions. It is also a reminder that time matters – not just for patients and their families, but for sponsors navigating long, costly development cycles.
At Clariness, we’re proud to support this mission every day. With experience in over 50 neurological trials, spanning conditions like Parkinson’s, epilepsy, MS, and cognitive impairment, we’ve helped trial teams identify and enroll the right patients across more than 50 countries.
Recruitment doesn’t have to be guesswork. With ‘neuro-logical’ strategies and the right partner, your next neurology trial can be smarter, faster, and more inclusive from day one. To learn more about our neurological clinical trial experience, click here, or to speak to an expert about your study’s requirements, and how we can apply logical steps to accelerate your enrollment, contact us.
Let’s make progress for patients and bring new therapies closer to those who need them most.