Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation Launches New Cognitive Vitality Site to Meet Critical Need in Alzheimer's Prevention and Education

NEW YORK, April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced today the launch of Cognitive Vitality, a new online resource developed to provide a comprehensive and credible overview and analysis of the science for specific strategies to prevent Alzheimer's and related dementias. The resource showcases the strength of the science for and against prevention strategies related to nutrition and the management of other diseases, to enable people to make informed decisions in protecting their brain from cognitive decline, Alzheimer's and other dementias.  

"Although there has been significant research in animals and humans that indicate ways to prevent dementia, it is difficult for people to understand and interpret the evidence," said Howard Fillit, MD, executive director and chief science officer for ADDF. "We developed Cognitive Vitality to address this critical unmet need by providing simple tools and resources for people to better understand the research, helping them to navigate through the latest findings."

Cognitive Vitality aims to empower people to protect their aging brains by providing access to clear and credible interpretations of the scientific evidence and the gaps in that evidence for many potential prevention strategies. These include nutrition and natural products like coffee or vitamin D as well as drugs for health management like hypertension treatments and hormone replacement therapies. The site offers information to help people make educated decisions on nutrition and drugs in addition to useful resources that can help improve brain function.

"We know that people are interested in Alzheimer's prevention and memory conservation, as showcased by the billions of dollars spent every year on supplements and alternative medicines, but there is confusion as to what might work and what doesn't, what's safe and what's dangerous, and how confident experts are in the science behind those answers," said Penny Dacks, PhD, assistant director for Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention for ADDF. "Cognitive Vitality was developed to provide evidence-based answers to people's questions about healthy brain aging and the prevention of Alzheimer's and related dementias."

As part of the online resource, Cognitive Vitality will also include ratings of the scientific evidence for and against suggested prevention strategies; practical information on safety, efficacy and dosing of therapeutic approaches; and clear, digestible translations of findings, all developed by ADDF scientists with input from leading researchers and clinicians in the field of Alzheimer's and dementia.

About the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
The mission of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is to accelerate the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's diseases, related dementias and cognitive aging. The ADDF has granted more than $65 million to fund nearly 450 Alzheimer's drug discovery programs in academic centers and biotechnology companies in 18 countries. For more information, please visit www.AlzDiscovery.org.

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SOURCE Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation