Dive Brief:
- The National Institutes of Health announced July 7 that it will pour about $24 million over four years to fund advanced research into Alzheimer's disease at eight academic medical centers.
- Funded centers, which NIH described as being at the forefront of research into Alzheimer’s genetics, are University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; University of Miami; Columbia University; Boston University; University of Washington, Seattle; Washington University in St. Louis; and University of Texas, Houston.
- With NIH's support, teams of scientists will analyze genome sequence data to try to understand how this ordering in a cell's DNA may contribute to increased risk or protect against Alzheimer's. Scientists also will explore why some people with known risks don't develop the disease.
Dive Insight:
Using a broad-based, collaborative approach is "vital to advancing a deeper understanding of the genetic variants involved in this complex and devastating disease and to the shared goal of finding targets for effective interventions,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said.
The latest effort builds on genome sequencing data done through an NIH collaboration that began in 2012. It determined the order of all 3 billion letters in the individual genomes of 580 participants, and gathered sequencing data, focusing on proteins influencing the disorder, of another 11,000 people: 6,000 with Alzheimer’s and 5,000 without.
The genetic research falls under the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease, a framework announced by HHS in 2012 and updated annually with the goal of identifying and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025. It is more than research: It also calls for a coordinated, concentrated effort in care and services for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. This support is encouraging news for hospitals dealing with older, sicker patients, which face the front-line daily challenge of caring for people with Alzheimer's.
