GRAND RAPIDS AND SOUTHFIELD — Millions of people are currently living with Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia in the world. According to the Alzheimer’s Association and the CDC, older Black Americans are twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or dementia compared to older White Americans.
About 14% of Black people over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s. The disease is the fourth leading cause of death among older Black people. The trend is expected to increase exponentially over the next 5-10 years.
Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, the disease can be treated. However, only 20% of Black Americans say that they have no barriers to excellent healthcare and support.
Corewell Health neuroscientist Dr. Stewart Graham is leading a research project called the “Black American United Memory & Aging Project.” The goal of the project is to better understand all the different factors that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease and why Blacks are at a higher risk.
“A lot of the work has been done in Caucasians, but we don’t know how this works in Black Americans. We don’t know how this works in Hispanics. We don’t know how this works in Latinos,” said Dr. Graham. “So, we have to be concentrating on disparity research, because of its importance, um, because of their likelihood to develop the disease, two to three times more so than their Caucasian counterparts.”
For the project, Dr. Graham is working with experts at Johns Hopkins University and Hampton University. The research is being done entirely online, which allows researchers to gather data from every corner of the country. The researchers are planning to collect data from 600 participants, including saliva samples, memory tests, and questionnaires.
“We’re going to combine our biomedical measurements, with all the psychological measurements with all of our cognitive testing information,” said Dr. Graham. “And believe me, it’s going to be a large part of information, which is going to give us a direct readout of how these individuals are affected over this time period.”
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