Seeking Answers for Alzheimer’s
A few rich philanthropists could help to find a better way of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, according to an article by Monica Nickelsburg on Geek Wire. By funding the Diagnostics Accelerator, Bill Gates and Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos are assisting researchers seeking earlier ways to detect and prevent the disease. Amazon CEO Bezos and Microsoft founder Gates have discovered that they have a common interest, and it could prove exciting for researchers.
In 2018, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation began the fund with $35 million from leaders in business and medicine, including the Bill and Melina Gates Foundation. Now the organization has procured approximately $15 million in new funding from the Bezos family and existing donors.
In a blog post published recently, Gates described the challenges in Alzheimer’s diagnostics as it is now and chances to make the situation better. As Gates explained, the most common of the current approaches to diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease — a spinal tap or brain scan — are less than perfect options, because they are both invasive and expensive.
In the words of Gates, “What does the ideal Alzheimer’s diagnostic look like? It needs to be cheap and easy to administer. “It should tell us not only whether you have Alzheimer’s, but how far advanced the disease is.”
While Gates acknowledged that scientists are making progress on achieving a blood test for Alzheimer’s, he is determined to take diagnostic procedures even further. He thinks a digital test for the disease may be possible at some point.
Gates is especially interested in the work of Dr. Rhoda Au, a researcher performing a project called the Framingham Heart Study that has been keeping track of the health of one community for 70 years. Dr. Au has thousands of audio files of patients. Some of them have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She is delving into the idea of using technology to analyze voices for early signs of Alzheimer’s.
Gates postulated, “What if we could use digital technology, not medicine, to identify individuals years before they start to develop mental decline? What if we could find an even less invasive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s? What if we could use digital technology, not medicine, to identify individuals years before they start to develop mental decline?”
The Diagnostics Accelerator commitment is the first philanthropic endeavor announced by Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos since they divulged plans to get a divorce in January. They said that that time that they would continue to be “partners in ventures and projects.”
Gates concluded, “I am grateful to be joined in this effort by my friends Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos. They have been tremendous partners who are deeply committed to finding an end to this disease.”
