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Alzheimer’s disease

As many as 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and by 2050, this number will increase to close to 14 million, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Incredibly, a cure for this degenerative memory-robbing brain disease may be within our grasp. “In the nearly 40 years I’ve worked in the field of Alzheimer’s research, I’ve never been more hopeful,” says Howard M. Fillit, MD, founding executive director and chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) in New York City. “With more treatments in clinical trials than ever before, better diagnostics and a solid scientific understanding, this is a defining time for Alzheimer’s research,” he says.

One big challenge has been the absence of measurable markers for the disease. “Just as cholesterol is an early biomarker for heart disease, our aim is to have a simple, less expensive blood test that would allow doctors to more frequently screen patients for Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Fillit says. “Ideally, such tests would identify the disease in its early stages, before patients develop symptoms of dementia. This would enable both prevention and treatment.” That is why the ADDF partnered with Bill Gates, the Dolby family, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, and others to create Diagnostics Accelerator to fast-track the development of novel biomarkers to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers are also excited by new treatments, including those that help reduce the buildups of the plaque in the brain that can lead to dementia in people with Alzheimer’s, such as gene therapy, shares Amy Aloysi, MD, MPH, a psychiatrist and neurologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.