US Government Invests $300 Million in Alzheimer's Research Database

The US National Institute on Aging (NIA) is funding a $300 million project to build a massive Alzheimer's research database that can track the health of Americans for decades and enable researchers to gain new insights on the brain-wasting disease. The platform will draw on data from medical records, insurance claims, pharmacies, mobile devices, sensors, and various government agencies. The database could help identify healthy people at risk for Alzheimer's, which affects about 6 million Americans, for future drug trials. It also aims to address chronic underrepresentation of people of color and different ethnicities in Alzheimer’s clinical trials.