GHR’s Health Initiative has committed more than $17 million over 5 years to scaling up important Alzheimer’s disease prevention research already underway. The Foundation is targeting funding to improve some of the largest research efforts in the field, including Washington University's DIAN-TU Study, which is quickly evaluating potential prevention treatments among those who are most likely to develop the disease, and Harvard University's A4 Study, which is working toward FDA approval for prevention therapy in the general population.

A recent Nature article highlights the importance of preclinical treatments, like DIAN-TU, which are initiated in cognitively unimpaired at-risk people, and are intended to postpone, reduce the risk of or completely prevent the clinical onset of Alzheimer’s. The authors argue that we need faster ways to evaluate these treatments, new ways to collaborate towards common goals and determination to expedite preclinical trials.

One useful tool for accelerating the initiation and performance of these trials is Collaboration for Alzheimer’s Prevention (CAP), a convening and consensus-building initiative co-founded by DIAN-TU and A4, among others. Important strides made by CAP include:

• Development of trial outcomes, including cognitive and clinical endpoints and biomarkers
• Standardization of sample and data collection, such as the use of tau imaging in all CAP trials
• Participant recruitment and retention through the development of a registry
• Data and sample sharing mechanisms

​These developments help carry out Alzheimer’s prevention trials with care, thoroughness and maximum impact. ​While all research is uncertain, the potential to turn the tide and provide hope for all families that face Alzheimer’s has never been more promising.  To learn more about GHR’s Alzheimer’s prevention funding efforts, contact us.

Recently more than 700 Alzheimer’s disease researchers attended the seventh annual Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) Conference in Philadelphia to discuss new developments in the field. In a press release describing the conference, CTAD described two highlights: new investigational compounds and collaborations for Alzheimer’s prevention.

The latter described the progress made by the Collaboration for Alzheimer’s Prevention (CAP), an umbrella group including two studies funded, in part, by GHR—the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s (A4) Study and the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU).

At the conference, director of DIAN-TU Randall Bateman spoke on the progress of the CAP partnership. Despite differences in populations, the four studies have found common ground on a clear set of cognitive domains to test and compare results. All CAP trials now also plan to use tau imaging, thanks to a partnership between the NIH and 10 industry partners.

CAP’s updates, while notable, are only a portion of the rapidly changing landscape of Alzheimer’s research. Other notable progressions presented at CTAD, such as the new compounds being developed and the creation of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry to accelerate enrollment in trials, will intersect with GHR’s Health Initiative’s involvement as organizations and researchers work together to find effective treatment.

GHR Foundation’s Health Program funds research to support the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. The FoundationFuondation             has committed more than $10 million over the next 5 years to scale up important research already underway, including some of the largest research efforts in the field.

One such research program is the A4 Study. This study, led by Harvard researcher Dr. Reisa Sperling and coordinated by the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at the University of California, San Diego, is a clinical trial focused on determining the effectiveness of prevention therapy before Alzheimer's disease impacts the brain.

Enrollment for the study is underway and researchers are currently looking for volunteers aged 65+ with normal memory function to be screened for an Alzheimer’s amyloid plaques. Those found eligible for the study will receive prevention treatment at locations across North America and Australia.

While all research is uncertain, the potential to turn the tide and provide hope for all families that face Alzheimer’s has never been more promising. If you know someone who might be qualified and interested in participating in the study, have them examine the eligibility requirements and learn more here. To learn more about partnering with GHR Foundation to fund innovative Alzheimer’s research, contact us.

With a focus on Alzheimer’s disease prevention research, GHR Foundation funded a groundbreaking Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease (A4) study which may help identify people who are highest risk to develop the disease. This research will also identify treatments – and when to best administer them – to slow or prevent Alzheimer’s. Long-term, the Foundation hopes the A4 study and complementary research will result in FDA approval for Alzheimer’s prevention therapies.

The A4 study team is continuing to develop the clinical partnerships necessary to study 1,000 patients and has created tools to share background with potential participants. GHR Alzheimer’s advisory board member and lead A4 researcher Dr. Reisa Sperling explains the research and how people can get involved in the research in a recent YouTube video. 

GHR looks forward to learning more about the impact of A4 on early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.