The National Institutes of Health has renewed funding to the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center at Indiana University School of Medicine for the fifth consecutive five-year term, awarding the center a grant of $9.1 million.

The grant will enable the center’s scientists and doctors to continue their work in state-of-the-art research aimed at developing better understanding of the causes and potential treatments for Alzheimer disease and other dementias, says Bernardino Ghetti, MD, the center director.

The center also offers a variety of educational and outreach programs, including an annual spring educational symposium with sessions for scientists, health care providers and caregivers.

The funding renewal marks the 20th anniversary of the center being named an NIH-designated and funded Alzheimer disease center. As one of 29 such centers in the United States, the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center’s investigators tackle a broad range of dementia-related issues.

“Recent dementia research has enabled investigators and physicians to recognize that there are many different types of Alzheimer disease and dementias,” says Ghetti.

As the center moves into its third decade of NIH designated support, fundamental research questions remain, such as a detailed understanding of the relationship between the tau and amyloid proteins that play key roles in the development of Alzheimer disease, he adds.

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2011
Source: Indiana University School of Medicine