NEED TO KNOW
- In a newly published essay, Bill Gates said he is “optimistic” about the “massive progress” recently made in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease
- The Microsoft co-founder said he got a first-hand look at the “the latest breakthrough” in Alzheimer’s research, “blood-based diagnostic tests”
- Gates’ dad, William, who died in 2020, lived with the disease before his death
Bill Gates is “really excited” about the progress recently made in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
In an essay published on Gates Notes on Tuesday, June 17, the Microsoft co-founder said he is “optimistic” about the “massive progress” recently made in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
His excitement has blossomed since visiting Indiana University’s School of Medicine in 2024, where he got a first-hand look at the “the latest breakthrough” in Alzheimer’s research and development: “blood-based diagnostic tests.”
Despite the challenges facing the research, including funding, Gates said he “cannot help but be filled with a sense of hope when I think of all the progress being made on Alzheimer’s.” He called it “an exciting time in a challenging space.”
“We are closer than ever before to a world where no one has to watch someone they love suffer from this awful disease,” Gates wrote.
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As Gates noted in his essay, more than 7 million people in the United States, or about 1 in 9 people over the age of 65, currently have Alzheimer’s disease.
Gates has a personal connection to Alzheimer’s, too. His father William, who died in 2020, lived with the disease. “Watching my brilliant, loving father go downhill and disappear was a brutal experience,” Gates wrote.
But now, Gates is thrilled to see the changes happening in the world of Alzheimer’s research and development in the five years since his father’s death. While visiting Indiana University’s School of Medicine, Gates said he “got the opportunity” to learn more about the blood-based diagnostic tests that could change how Alzheimer’s is approached.
The tests aim to detect “the ratio of amyloid plaques in the brain,” leaving Gates “optimistic that these tests will be a game-changer.”
“We now know that the disease begins 15 to 20 years before you start to see any signs,” the billionaire wrote. “A simple, accurate, and easy-to-run blood test might one day make routine screening possible, identifying patients long before they experience cognitive decline.”
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also recently approved two drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, which Gates noted in his essay “have proven to modestly slow down the progression of the disease.”
Those drugs, paired with early diagnostic testing, has Gates “really excited” about the future of treating the disease. Gates said now is the time to “spend more money on research, not less.”
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“We are on the cusp of turning the tide against dementia — which makes this an especially bad time to pull back on research,” he wrote. “Recent cuts to the National Institutes of Health and other government institutions threaten to stop progress in its tracks, and no individual or private organization can fill the gap.”
However, Gates acknowledged that “there is still a huge amount of work to be done” when it comes to understanding and treating Alzheimer’s disease. “But I am blown away by how much we have learned about Alzheimer’s over the last couple of years,” he added.
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