Besides a cure, what do those afraid of Alzheimer’s disease need most? According to entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Gates, a key need is a “reliable, affordable, and accessible” diagnostic test. To jump-start that research, Gates announced today that he has joined a coalition of philanthropists who are investing $30 million to create a venture fund called Diagnostics Accelerator.
“We need a better way of diagnosing Alzheimer’s — like a simple blood test or eye exam — before we’re able to slow the progression of the disease,” Gates wrote in a statement announcing the investment. “Imagine a world where diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is as simple as getting your blood tested during your annual physical.”
An accurate test is critical, Gates says, because science shows that Alzheimer’s can begin more than a decade before the first outward signs of decline. Yet people today are cognitively tested only when symptoms have progressed to the point at which…
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