Startups Offer Promise for Alzheimer's Cure

A recent Palm Beach symposium by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) highlighted the promise that startups offer far better treatment and hopefully a cure for Alzheimer's disease, reports the Palm Beach Post . ADDF Founding Executive Director Howard Fillit and Cornell University's Ronald Crystal led the symposium. Fillit said Alzheimer's research has been hobbled by a lack of understanding, and ADDF is fully committed to funding research. The next major advance in research is expected to be the diagnostic accelerator, a device that uses a blood test to determine whether people as young as 40 could develop Alzheimer's. Crystal cited studies in Finland, Japan, and the United States indicating that reduced hypertension, a good diet, exercise, less drinking, and less smoking delay the onset of the disease — and prevention drugs are available. ADDF's high-risk, high-return funding approach is aimed at partnerships with venture capitalists like Bill Gates and aggressive startups, with the hope of finding a game-changing drug or treatment that will be more affordable and more effective than current medical procedures.