The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) announced today the recipient of their first partnership research award through the Lewy Body Dementia Biomarker Research Program. The goal of the program is to catalyze the discovery of innovative biomarkers that aid in early diagnosis, detection and disease monitoring of Lewy body dementias (LBD).
The ADDF/LBDA program awarded $125,000 to one academic scientist on the cutting edge of research for LBD. The award winner is Lawrence Honig, MD, Columbia University. An independent panel of 10 experts from the ADDF's Scientific Review Board and LBDA's Scientific Advisory Council evaluated 13 applications submitted from around the world.
"There is great potential for results from this project to have applications to both Lewy body diseases, which includes Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias, and Alzheimer's disease," said Howard Fillit, MD, the ADDF Executive Director. "This underscores the mutual benefit of partnering with LBDA in biomarker research."
LBD is the second most common form of degenerative dementia in the elderly, affecting an estimated 1.3 million people in the United States. Yet many individuals who have LBD are misdiagnosed, most commonly with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases. Developing effective biomarkers is key to helping to correctly diagnose the disease, monitor disease progression and develop effective new drugs to treat, prevent and cure LBD.
"The development of reliable biomarkers for LBD is essential for both early diagnosis and the future development of new LBD treatments," said Angela Herron, LBDA Board President. "This award is part of LBDA's commitment to improving the rate of early and reliable diagnosis in LBD. We are proud to be partnering with the ADDF and welcome their involvement in lifting the burden from LBD families and building hope through research.
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