Awards for Biomarker Discovery Research for Lewy Body Dementia Announced

News provided by

Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation

May 11, 2010, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

For more information about ADDF or to speak with Dr. Fillit, please contact Filomena Machleder at 212-901-8004 or [email protected]. For information about LBDA, please contact Mendie Nord at 404-935-6444 ext. 103 or [email protected].

About the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)

The ADDF (www.AlzDiscovery.org) is the only public charity whose sole mission is to accelerate the discovery and development of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and cognitive aging. The ADDF uses a venture philanthropy model to bridge the worldwide funding gap between basic research and later-stage development, using any return on investment to support new research. Since 1998, the ADDF has granted more than $40 million to fund over 295 Alzheimer's drug discovery programs in academic centers and biotechnology companies in 15 countries.

About the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA)

LBDA is the only organization in the United States that provides comprehensive information, education and support for the 1.3 million people afflicted by Lewy body dementias. LBDA's Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) is comprised of leading experts in research and clinical management of Lewy body dementias from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. To learn more about LBDA, visit www.lbda.org.

SOURCE Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation