In January, AFTD announced it will leverage support from our generous donors to invest $2.5 million in the Acceleratore di diagnostica program, an initiative of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF).

L'investimento di AFTD sarà accompagnato da un ulteriore $2.5MM del Acceleratore di diagnostica iniziativa, che ha ricevuto un finanziamento iniziale da Bill Gates, dal co-fondatore dell'ADDF Leonard A. Lauder e da altri filantropi. Il risultato sarà di $5 milioni dedicati allo sviluppo di biomarcatori FTD.

In addition to Gates, supporters of the Acceleratore di diagnostica include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos. Overall, the Acceleratore di diagnostica program will provide nearly $50 million toward more effectively diagnosing all forms of dementia.

A biomarker – such as blood pressure for cardiovascular disease or bloodsugar level for diabetes – provides measurable evidence of underlying disease. Biomarkers are an essential tool for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of many conditions.

“Today there are no biomarkers for FTD,” said ADDF’s Founding Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer Howard Fillit, M.D. “The $5 million in new FTD research will include awards to fund exploration for new biomarkers that can help accurately diagnose and track the progression of FTD. It will also enable us to add an FTD arm to large validation studies funded by the Acceleratore di diagnostica.”

AFTD has enjoyed a longstanding research partnership with the ADDF, forged through a shared belief that advances in the scientific knowledge base regarding one form of dementia may lead to breakthroughs in other related conditions. AFTD’s most recent investment represents an expansion of the scope of AFTD’s FTD Biomarkers Initiative, launched in 2016.

"Sappiamo oggi che affrontare le malattie neurodegenerative in qualsiasi forma richiede uno sforzo collaborativo", ha affermato Susan LJ Dickinson, CEO di AFTD, MS, CGC. “AFTD ha una lunga storia di collaborazione nella ricerca con l'ADDF e siamo grati di unire nuovamente le forze, in collaborazione con Bill Gates e altri generosi finanziatori.

"La partnership tra ADDF e AFTD potrebbe espandersi sulla base di opportunità emergenti mentre continuiamo a perseguire le nostre missioni organizzative", ha aggiunto.

In un post sul blog published on April 2, Gates announced a request for proposals for the development of a digital biomarker for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Digital biomarkers, according to the Sito dell'ADDF, are “objective, quantifiable physiological and behavioral data that are collected, measured and analyzed by means of digital devices such as portables, wearables, or ambient sensors.”

Interested researchers are asked to submit letters of intent by June 7, with invited full proposals due on August 16. clicca qui per maggiori informazioni.