![\"Pedro](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/UYWEFZRQE5BC3HA5POQPCUAT5Q.jpg?auth=649f9e38d6b93d664e754e044c084d21b5cfe41352a59952d74ebb6b4a70a95d&quality=80&width=830\")
<\/p>\nOn Nov. 4, Texans will vote on Proposition 14, a $3 billion plan to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT. Modeled after the state\u2019s cancer research institute, the initiative would fund studies into Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s and other neurodegenerative diseases.<\/p>\n
\u201cDPRIT is specifically designed to accelerate research into dementia, attracting top talent to our state and creating high-quality jobs, but the most important goal is to improve the health and quality of life for Texans impacted by dementia,\u201d Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, the Senate\u2019s lead budget writer, said in March.<\/p>\n
The measure arrives at a pivotal moment. As Americans live longer, the number of adults who develop dementia annually will double over the next 35 years to about 1 million cases by 2060, according to some estimates. The price tag is rising, too, with dementia-related health and long-term care costs projected to increase to nearly $1 trillion by 2050.<\/p>\n
More than 7 million Americans currently have dementia, nearly 10% of people 65 and older. In 2020, Texas alone had nearly half a million residents living with Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the most common form of dementia, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association and the Texas Department of State Health Services.<\/p>\n
The creation of the dementia institute earned bipartisan support during this year\u2019s Legislative session. The bill was carried by Huffman, with dozens of other lawmakers signing onto the bill as either co-authors, sponsors or co-sponsors.<\/p>\n
A handful of lawmakers \u2014 such as State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian \u2014 raised concerns about the $3 billion price tag and the expansion of state government.<\/p>\n
The bill overwhelmingly passed both the Senate and the House. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick applauded the passage of the bill, which he had named as one of his priorities for the session.<\/p>\n
With DPRIT funding, scientists could identify risk patterns unique to Texans, said Pedro Maia, an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at Arlington involved in Alzheimer\u2019s disease research. Such studies, he said, \u201ccould lead to Texas-specific interventions or policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neurodegenerative diseases occur when nerve cells in the brain or peripheral nervous system \u2014 the network of nerves that runs through the body \u2014 malfunction or die, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. These conditions, which include dementia, Alzheimer\u2019s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, worsen over time and have no cure.<\/p>\n
Misfolded proteins that clump into toxic bundles and damage or kill nerve cells appear to be a main driver of Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s and other dementias, said Dr. Marc Diamond, director of UT Southwestern\u2019s Center for Alzheimer\u2019s and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Yet key questions remain about how genetics, the immune system and other factors shape when symptoms emerge and how quickly a disease progresses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand certain aspects of the problem well enough to think about engineering therapies,\u201d Diamond said. In the case of dementia, \u201cwe\u2019re pretty sure that the immune system of the brain plays a role, but we don\u2019t understand that well enough. I think a lot of those studies are going to have to come from very careful patient-based studies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Marc Diamond poses for a photograph at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas on June 11, 2021.<\/p>\n
Jason Janik \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n
Machine learning and artificial intelligence will be central to closing those gaps, Maia said. At UT Arlington, researchers are enrolling volunteers in the Arlington Study of Healthy Aging, which aims to track how health changes with age. By building mathematical models of how a person\u2019s brain ages \u2014 and comparing those changes with their genetics and medical and lifestyle history \u2014 researchers aim to develop AI tools that could estimate a person\u2019s risk and flag early signs of dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very possible that some of this funding could be leveraged to have AI discover new medications or [be] useful for alleviating symptoms or preventing disease,\u201d Maia said.<\/p>\n
Catching Alzheimer\u2019s early is a priority for clinicians like Dr. Ihab Hajjar, who directs the North Texas Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center at UT Southwestern. Alongside his study of the interaction between brain cells and blood vessels that helps keep the brain healthy, Hajjar is developing an AI tool to spot speech-pattern changes linked to the disease.<\/p>\n
AI tools, including large language models, could help clinicians identify people who show early signs of Alzheimer\u2019s or related conditions, said Hajjar, allowing them to be flagged for closer evaluation and possible diagnosis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pedro Maia is an assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at Arlington involved in Alzheimer s disease research.<\/p>\n
UT Arlington<\/p>\n
Introduction to Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas On Nov. 4, Texans will vote on Proposition 14, a $3 billion plan to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT. Modeled after the state\u2019s cancer research institute, the initiative would fund studies into Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s and other neurodegenerative diseases. \u201cDPRIT is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":15376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/XIYISADV2E7SVDR77XOW7ABRXM.jpg?auth=b5ea319d5c67944e17754a855cbbd405aa21484b6c6a6007142eb62fe13bcc42&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15374"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15377,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15374\/revisions\/15377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}