HBO, NIA Collaborate on The Alzheimer’s Project
Over the past 2 years, the NIA has collaborated with HBO Documentary Films, in association with the Alzheimer’s Association, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, and the Geoffrey Beene Gives Back Alzheimer’s Initiative, to present The Alzheimer’s Project, a multi-platform public health series that debuted on HBO on May 10–12. The series includes a centerpiece film on science and research, featuring many NIA grantees. Films focused on families include one for children and families touched by Alzheimer’s disease (AD), based on the book for children by Maria Shriver, who is co-executive producer of The Alzheimer’s Project with Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films. Two of the films take viewers into the homes and lives of people with AD and their caregivers.
The Alzheimer’s Project also provides 15 supplemental films on the HBO Web site, featuring interviews with scientists involved in research offering additional detail and insight into their work and topics of current scientific interest. Additional short films of a more technical nature are planned for the AlzForum Web site. The producers also developed a companion book featuring AD research. The NIA provided scientific and technical guidance to the films and other aspects of The Alzheimer’s Project.
“The NIA welcomed the opportunity to become involved in telling the story of Alzheimer’s in this way,” said NIA Director Dr. Richard J. Hodes. “The documentaries focus on the scientists and the families who are meeting the many challenges posed by this devastating disease. The considerable materials and information accompanying the films provide important insights and information about Alzheimer’s research and care.”
The Alzheimer’s Project’s broad information and outreach effort seeks to bring wider understanding about research in AD and greater knowledge of resources for caregivers. HBO’s Web site offers clips from the documentaries and supplemental films, as well as a Web community for discussing aspects of AD. The site directs visitors to the NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center and resources from the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations. Further, The Alzheimer’s Project offered DVDs of the films to communities nationwide, with viewer discussion guides and support to promote education and discussion about AD by audiences at a community level.
For more information about The Alzheimer’s Project, visit www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/HBO or the HBO Web site at www.hbo.com/alzheimers.
Updated Alzheimer’s Disease Video Now Available
“Inside the Brain: Unraveling the Mystery of Alzheimer’s Disease,” a new animated video, is now available on the NIA’s ADEAR Web site. The 4-minute captioned video, available at http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/advideo, shows the progression of Alzheimer's disease in the brain and the impact on brain cells. “Inside the Brain” is a companion to Alzheimer’s Disease: Unraveling the Mystery, which is available to view, download, or order on the Web site at http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/Unraveling. Graphics and images from the publication are also available.
NIA Awards $19.5 Million to AD Genetics Consortium for GWAS
The NIA recently awarded a 5-year, $19.5 million grant to the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium (ADGC) to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify the remaining genes associated with an increased risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Dr. Gerard D. Schellenberg of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine will lead the study.
GWASs require a large number of samples to be studied to detect significant differences in genetic associations between people who have AD and those who do not. The ADGC is a collaborative effort of AD geneticists who are collecting more than 10,000 cases and 10,000 controls for such a study. In this study, investigators will look for genes that may influence the age of AD onset, rate of progression, and AD-related biomarkers. They will also be able to look for genes associated with age-related cognitive decline.
Identifying the remaining risk-factor genes will provide insight into new pathways that result in late-onset AD, a first step in the development of drugs to combat development of AD. It will also help identify people at high risk of developing late-onset AD, who would be prime candidates for prevention therapies and clinical trials.
For more information on AD genetics studies, go to www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/ADProgress2007/Progress/04_search.htm.
NIH Introduces New Research Coding System
In 2009, the NIH began using the Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) system to report information to the public about NIH research. This new computer-based tool uses a combination of text mining and other electronic identifiers to generate lists of research projects in categories currently covering 215 research areas, diseases, and conditions. Beginning with fiscal year (FY) 2008, the annual report generated by the new system includes a list of NIH-funded projects related to each category. This list includes project numbers; titles; principal investigators, their institutions and states; and funding amounts. To view or download this information, go to http://www.report.nih.gov/rcdc/categories and click on the FY2008 funding amount for a category of interest.
Some of the research funding amounts reported through the RCDC system may differ from those reported by NIH in the past. This is because RCDC applies a new but consistent definition for each category of grants, contracts, and intramural research across all of NIH. The way NIH prioritizes, budgets, and spends tax dollars throughout the year stays the same. Only how expenditures are categorized and reported has changed. Additional information is available at http://report.nih.gov/rcdc/faqs/Default.aspx.
Roybal Centers Activities Summarized
The Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences in Aging recently released a summary of research accomplishments over the past few years. “Healthy Aging, Aging Healthy” highlights the areas in which each of the 10 Roybal Centers are active.
Authorized by Congress in 1993, the Roybal Centers Program is the namesake of former House Select Committee on Aging Chair Edward R. Roybal (1916–2005). The program is designed to move promising social and behavioral research findings out of the laboratory and into programs, practices, and policies that will improve the lives of older adults and the ability of society to adapt to an aging population. They are funded through the NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research (DBSR).
Copies of the summary are available upon request from the Roybal Centers and from DBSR. For more information on the Roybal Centers, go to www.nia.nih.gov/ResearchInformation/ExtramuralPrograms/BehavioralAndSocialResearch/roybals.htm.
