HSC Launches First-of-Its Kind Black Alzheimer's Brain Study

El Paso Inc. reports that the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (HSC) has launched an outreach campaign throughout Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) following an announcement to invest $7 million in the first-ever Black Alzheimer's (ALZ) Brain Study. The goal is to discover why Alzheimer's disproportionately affects Black families, and media personality Sybil Wilkes, along with community, civic, and faith-based leaders, have joined the campaign to help boost awareness and encourage Black residents in DFW to participate. An estimated 2.2 million African Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and in point of fact one out of two Black households is impacted by Alzheimer's or some type of dementia. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that African Americans have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer's among those 65 and older. HSC's Black ALZ Brain Study will apply cutting-edge imaging and robotics to analyze brain protein markers, with participants receiving free comprehensive interviews, functional exams, blood drawings, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and a positron-emission tomography scan. "Transparency and trust will be key components of the Black ALZ Brain Study's success — and we're all in," said Associate Director of the Institute for Translational Research Leigh Johnson.