Backgrounder on Alzheimer’s disease

[ Press Release 2011-01 ]

The Government of Canada is taking action to turn the tide of Alzheimer's disease. By supporting research, surveillance and health promotion, the Government aims to improve the lives of Canadians with Alzheimer's disease and reduce the number of Canadians who develop this disease in the future.

Today, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of State for Seniors, announced $8.6 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to support 44 research projects on Alzheimer's disease and related dementia to be carried out by research in universities and hospitals across Canada.

The following are examples of the research projects funded:

• Dr. Wangdong Zhang at the University of Ottawa will study the link between genes that regulate cholesterol metabolism in the brain and the development of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.
• Dr. Sandra Black at the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto will use functional brain imaging to study how changes in the activity of a specific part of the brain may be used as a biomarker to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and track a patient's response to treatment.
• Dr. Cheryl Wellington at University of British Columbia in Vancouver will study the potential of certain compounds to remove beta-amyloid protein from the brain as a new therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease.
• Dr. Stephen Pasternak at the University of Western Ontario will study the production of beta-amyloid protein in brain cells to determine where it is produced and how its production is affected in Alzheimer's disease.
• Dr. Tamàs Fulop at Université de Sherbrooke will study the role of the immune system in the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada and Alzheimer's Disease International will host the 26th International Conference of Alzheimer's Disease International to be held in Toronto, Ontario from March 26 to 29, 2011. The Government of Canada is providing $160,000 to the Alzheimer Society of Canada to support the organization of four expert-led sessions at the conference that will serve to deepen the understanding of dementia.