Alzheimer’s Disease: A Giving Smarter Guide
Brain Disorders
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, affecting over 6 million Americans. AD patients experience declining cognitive function and eventually require full-time care. There is no cure for AD, making it a painful diagnosis for patients and their families.
In 2018, SPARC partnered with the Shanahan Family Foundation to conduct a landscape assessment of AD research and funding patterns, culminating in the development of a Giving Smarter Guide. This report lays out key opportunities for philanthropists to fund high-impact research, including:
- Standardizing, validating, and identifying new biomarkers for AD
- Improving preclinical models of AD to reduce clinical trial failures
- Identifying new therapeutic targets beyond amyloid beta
- Reducing silos in AD research that lead to inefficiencies and knowledge gaps
By filling current gaps in research, philanthropic capital has the potential to make a transformative impact in addressing this devastating disease.