$1 Million Prize for Alzheimer's Disease Germ Announced by Dr. Leslie Norins on ALZgerm.org

Alzheimer's Germ Quest CEO Dr. Leslie Norins has announced a three-year contest starting Jan. 16 offering a $1 million award to the researcher who provides convincing evidence that an infectious agent is the cause of Alzheimer's disease, reports PRWeb . The details are presented at ALZgerm.org and Norins cites a number of studies suggesting the disorder is the end result of a microbial infection. Last year, 33 leading Alzheimer's scientists were signatories to an editorial calling for more research on this. "It's time to more aggressively fund the hunt for a microbe that is the villain in Alzheimer's," Norins contends. His rationale for the contest is detailed in an accompanying white paper, "It's Time to Find the Alzheimer's Germ." Norins notes major funders are still focused on research subjects such as amyloid plaques and protein tangles. "Hopefully, this challenge will help jump-start additional research interest globally in microbes," he says. "To not investigate guarantees we will find nothing." Norins notes there is an intriguing resemblance with the discovery of the long-overlooked Helicobacter pylori and its role in inducing gastric ulcers. Norins' challenge is a project of Alzheimer's Germ Quest, and is open to all researchers globally. The prize money will be contributed by Norins and his wife, with no outside donations sought or accepted, and no medical advice supplied.