Bill Gates announced today he is making a personal investment to support the ongoing fight against Alzheimer’s.
Writing on his gatesnotes website, he said he would invest $50 million in a Dementia Discovery Fund in the first instance, “supporting startups as they explore less mainstream approaches to treating dementia.”
“There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about our chances: our understanding of the brain and the disease is advancing a great deal. We’re already making progress—but we need to do more,” he wrote.
“You have a nearly 50% chance of developing the disease if you live into your mid-80s. In the United States, it is the only cause of death in the top 10 without any meaningful treatments that becomes more prevalent each year. That trend will likely continue as baby boomers age, which means that more families will watch their loved ones suffer from cognitive decline and slowly disappear.”
The investment is a great boost to current efforts being made to overcome the disease. Innovators Magazine reported recently on the breakthroughs biotechs are pioneering in this area, with one developing a drug that could potentially halt the disease.
Today’s investment by Bill Gates is another important step in finding solutions to the destructive effects of Alzheimer’s.
