Alzheimer's Disease Research Awards 2008 Grants

CLARKSBURG, MD.-This year, Alzheimer's Disease Research (ADR), a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation, has awarded $5.2 million in Alzheimer's disease research grants. After reviewing applications from around the world, the ADR Scientific Review Committee awarded 27 grants of two- and three-year duration to scientists from the U.S. and Europe conducting research on Alzheimer's disease. All of these investigations aim to better understand the causes, such as genetic predisposition, and the processes, including protein accumulation in the brain, of Alzheimer's disease. Their goal is to develop therapies to slow or reverse the progression, and ultimately to prevent, this devastating brain disorder.

Alzheimer's disease is now estimated to affect more than five million people in the U.S. Approximately five percent of Americans between 65 and 74 years old are thought to have the disease. As many as one out of two people age 85 and older may be suffering from Alzheimer's, and this age group is one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population. By the year 2050, the number of Americans affected could rise to 15 million. Alzheimer's has an impact on those who have the disease, their families, caregivers and the entire health care system.

Since its inception, ADR has awarded grants totaling over $60 million to research. ADR is a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding cures for Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration by funding scientists worldwide through generous donor contributions. Through its outreach efforts, the American Health Assistance Foundation aids those directly affected and informs the general public about these diseases.