BrightFocus Foundation

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It is an irreversible degeneration of the brain that causes disruptions in memory, cognition, personality, and other functions. It eventually leads to death from complete brain failure. More than five million Americans age 65 and older are thought to have Alzheimer’s disease. The human and economic costs of the Alzheimer’s epidemic are staggering. Each year a half million Americans hear the diagnosis: “you have Alzheimer’s disease.” By 2050, the number of Americans with this disease may increase to more than 15 million, and the costs to Medicare—if not already bankrupted by it—could exceed a trillion dollars. BrightFocus Alzheimer's Disease Research (ADR) seeks to avert this tidal wave by funding research worldwide to end this tragic disease. We are also committed to fully informing the public, those directly impacted and their caregivers, about this disease by offering updates on the latest research, as well as risk factors, prevention, and coping strategies. Since 1985, ADR has awarded more than $78 million to support promising research in fields ranging from molecular biology to epidemiology.

BrightFocus’ ADR program is currently supporting 54 outstanding biomedical research projects after awarding 22 new grants in July 2012.  A listing of BrightFocus' currently funded projects is online at www.brightfocus.org/adrgrants(http://www.ahaf.org/adrgrants) BrightFocus has informed millions of people on the healthy habits that may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and aid caretakers in their heroic efforts to provide care and comfort to loved ones with Alzheimer's disease.  BrightFocus shares vital information with the public, including those affected by Alzheimer's disease, through its website, social and traditional media, print publications, and TV and radio public service announcements (PSA). An educational PSA about Alzheimer's disease has aired in 48 states.

BrightFocus evaluates the success of its programs and initiatives in several ways. The organization monitors grant awards throughout the year by evaluating the interim and annual progress reports it requires of each grantee.  These reports are evaluated by BrightFocus' Scientific Affairs department, with support from the Scientific Review Committee, an external group of world renowned researchers. In addition, surveys are conducted in the years following the award to identify research successes that may have been publicized after the conclusion of the project. This information is compiled and reviewed regularly. Pertinent information gleaned from the oversight process is distributed via BrightFocus eAlerts, web site, social media, and newsletters. Results from the public service announcement (PSA) campaigns are closely watched for six months. Following distribution of the PSA, reports are reviewed to determine how many times a PSA is played and to learn about the audience viewing it, as well as the communities where the PSA is airing. BrightFocus Information Service staff notes the calls and emails generated by the PSAs while responding to the queries they generate. Special events are evaluated through attendance records and post-event surveys that address the participant experience and satisfaction. Public education materials are reviewed and honed by volunteers from the scientific community. Internally, this information is evaluated and improved on the basis of public demand and mission relatedness, and new materials are developed.

To date, BrightFocus Foundation, known until 2013 as the American Health Assistance Foundation, has given $120 million* in funds to dedicated researchers, including more than $78 million through the ADR program. Some significant recent sponsored findings in Alzheimer's disease have demonstrated that: A protein triggered by rheumatoid arthritis dramatically reduces the development of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss in mice. The same plaque that forms in the Alzheimer's disease brain also accumulates in the eyes of children with Down's syndrome. Dementia in diabetics differs from dementia in non-diabetics. Memory loss from Alzheimer's disease may be caused not by cell death but by the build-up of a protein in the parts of nerve cells that store memories. Rising levels of plaque in the Alzheimer's disease brain appear to be the result of failing to clear the plaque, not that the brain is producing more of it. * The $120 million figure includes funding throughout BrightFocus/AHAF's history. The foundation has sought to identify the places where the greatest impact of its donor dollars could be made. As science and society have changed, some programs have been successfully concluded. BrightFocus is proud of the societal impact made by the donors to these programs, and it counts these programs' successes among the organization's achievements. Thus, BrightFocus includes its contributions to these programs in statements regarding the historical impact of the foundation.

BrightFocus Macular Degeneration Research (MDR) funds research on and informs the public about age-related macular degeneration. Since the program's inception in 1997, MDR has granted more than $12.5 million supporting basic research into the causes of and potential treatments for this incurable disease. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an irreversible destruction of the central area of the eye’s retina (the macula), which leads to loss of the sharp, fine-detail, “straight-ahead” vision required for activities like reading, driving, recognizing faces, and seeing the world in color. Macular degeneration is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older and is the second-highest cause of irreversible blindness in the world. As many as 11 million people in the United States have some form of macular degeneration, a number expected to double by 2050.

BrightFocus annually funds groundbreaking research as work continues to find prevention, diagnosis, and treatments for macular degeneration. BrightFocus shares vital information with the public, especially those affected by age-related macular degeneration, through the two websites (www.brightfocus.org and www.ChildrensCorner.org), social media, print publications, and TV and radio public service announcements. BrightFocus offers a toll-free number—1.855.345.6637—for people to ask questions and get real-time assistance. MDR’s current grants support critical studies, including: investigating a type of adult stem cell that may hold promise in replacing damaged eye cells with healthy ones identifying rare genetic variants leading to AMD looking for risk genes by comparing the DNA of African Americans with AMD to that of unrelated African Americans without AMD and examining the genetic causes of AMD in three Asian ethnic groups living in Singapore: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. A listing of BrightFocus’s currently funded projects is online at www.brightfocus.org/maculargrants(www.ahaf.org/maculargrants) .

BrightFocus Foundation evaluates the success of its programs and initiatives in several ways. BrightFocus monitors grant awards throughout the year by evaluating the interim and annual progress reports it requires of each macular degeneration research grantee. These reports are evaluated by BrightFocus’ Scientific Affairs department, with support from the Scientific Review Committee, an external group of esteemed researchers. In addition, BrightFocus staff conducts surveys in the years following the award to identify research successes that may have been publicized following conclusion of the project. This information is compiled and reviewed regularly. Pertinent information gleaned from the oversight process is distributed via BrightFocus eAlerts, web site, social media, and newsletters. Results from the public service announcement (PSA) campaigns are closely watched for six months. Following distribution of the PSA, reports are reviewed to determine how many times a PSA is played and to learn about the audience viewing it, as well as the communities where the PSA is airing. BrightFocus Information Service staff notes the calls and emails generated by the PSAs while responding to the queries they generate. Special events are evaluated through attendance records and post-event surveys that address the participant experience and satisfaction. Public education materials are reviewed and honed by volunteers from the scientific community. Internally, this information is evaluated and improved on the basis of public demand and mission relatedness, and new materials are developed.

To date, the American Health Assistance Foundation has given $115 million* in funds to dedicated researchers, $11.5 through its MDR program. Promising recent results by earlier AHAF grant awardees include: the discovery that suppressing a particular protein can reduce the abnormal growth of blood vessels that leads to AMD, a finding that may enable doctors to catch the disease before the center of the retina has been destroyed and the discovery that eating whole-wheat rice, pasta, and bread and other “high-quality” carbohydrates could reduce the risk of contracting AMD, which, if confirmed, would be a major breakthrough in disease prevention. progress toward clinical trials with a vitamin A derivative recently licensed to a pharmaceutical company for human testing. Grantees’ testimonials illustrate the impact and contributions these funds are making in the scientific arena. Typical of grants recipients’ recognition of AHAF’s impact are: "The AHAF funding has been essential in enabling a large, collaborative research study on the genetics of AMD. We have been able to use this grant to prepare for a much larger project by enhancing the value of our established patient resources and ensuring that we have funding for the data analyses."- Albert O. Edwards, M.D.Mayo Clinic "I am deeply moved by the tragic nature of blinding diseases in the elderly – particularly by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). I consider it a privilege to investigate the complex causes of this disease so that more effective means of treatment and prevention may be developed…It is highly appreciated that AHAF donors give us the support to realize these possibilities."- Jinbo Liu, M.D. Case Western Reserve University The $115 million figure includes funding throughout AHAF’s history. The American Health Assistance Foundation has sought to identify the places where the greatest impact of its donor dollars could be made. As science and society have changed, some programs have been successfully concluded. AHAF is proud of the societal impact made by the donors to these programs, and it counts these programs’ successes among the achievements of AHAF. Thus, AHAF includes its contributions to these programs in statements regarding the historical impact of the foundation.

BrightFocus National Glaucoma Research (NGR)  funds research on and educates the public about glaucoma. Since the program's inception in 1978, NGR has awarded 313 grants totaling more than $21 million to support basic research into the causes and potential approaches to prevention and treatments of this disease. "Glaucoma" relates to a group of eye disorders that have few symptoms in their early stages but that eventually result in damage to the optic nerve (the bundle of nerve fibers that carries information from the eye to the brain). Glaucoma can lead to loss of side vision and eventually to complete blindness. Approximately 3 million Americans are living with glaucoma; half do not yet know it. NGR is currently supporting 31 biomedical research projects, after awarding 11 grants in 2012, including:  Studying the increased risk of glaucoma with Alzheimer's disease Neuroprotection, how to survive or prevent the death of cells protecting vision Developing drug chaperones to stabilize and correct mutated genes.

Glaucoma Program Long-Term Success Each year BrightFocus' National Glaucoma Research (NGR) program funds groundbreaking studies aimed at stopping glaucoma. Since the program's inception in 1978, NGR has awarded 313 grants totaling more than $21 million to support basic research into the causes and potential approaches to prevention and treatments of this disease. NGR provides an extensive array of public information for patients and families about glaucoma, including risk factors, preventive lifestyles, treatments, and coping strategies. Materials are available in print and electronically. BrightFocus offers a toll-free number—1.800.345.6647—for people to ask questions and get real-time assistance during regular business hours, Eastern time. The free online scientific journal Molecular Neurodegeneration is the official journal of BrightFocus Foundation. Through this peer-reviewed publication, current information on scientific studies funded by BrightFocus and others is made freely available globally.

Glaucoma Program Short-Term Success BrightFocus' NGR program annually funds groundbreaking research aimed at finding diagnoses, preventions, treatments, and a cure for glaucoma. A listing of BrightFocus' currently funded projects is online at www.brightfocus.org/glaucomagrants. BrightFocus also educates people on the healthy habits that may lower their risk of getting glaucoma. Sharing vital information about glaucoma with the public through the website, print publications, and TV and radio public service announcements, is a primary accomplishment of BrightFocus. The organization reaches millions of people with its outreach efforts.

BrightFocus evaluates the success of its programs and initiatives in several ways. The organization monitors grant awards throughout the year by evaluating the interim and annual progress reports it requires of each grantee. These reports are evaluated by BrightFocus's Scientific Affairs department, with support from the Scientific Review Committee, an external group of world renowned researchers. In addition, surveys are conducted in the years following the award to identify research successes that may have been publicized after the conclusion of the project. This information is compiled and reviewed regularly. Pertinent information gleaned from the oversight process is distributed via BrightFocus eAlerts, web site, social media, and newsletters. Results from the public service announcement (PSA) campaigns are closely watched for six months. Following distribution of the PSA, reports are reviewed to determine how many times a PSA is played and to learn about the audience viewing it, as well as the communities where the PSA is airing. BrightFocus Information Service staff notes the calls and emails generated by the PSAs, while responding to the queries they generate. Special events are evaluated through attendance records and post-event surveys that address the participant experience and satisfaction. Public education materials are reviewed and honed by volunteers from the scientific community. Internally, this information is evaluated and improved on the basis of public demand and mission relatedness, and new materials are developed.

To date, BrightFocus, when AHAF, has given $120 million* in funds to dedicated researchers, $21 million of which went to address glaucoma. Research results from BrightFocus-supported studies that could lead to breakthroughs in stopping glaucoma include: the discovery that the first signs of glaucoma occur not in the eyes, as was previously thought, but in the brain, which could lead to breakthroughs in diagnosis and prevention the discovery that a drug already approved for blood-pressure treatment protects mice from developing glaucoma, which could have the potential to prevent glaucoma-related vision loss and eye damage the discovery that a molecule called VEGF-B protects both retinal and brain neurons from cell death, which could lead to the molecule's use as a treatment for vision loss, and an investigation of an Alzheimer's drug for use in slowing glaucoma. * The $120 million figure includes funding throughout history of the organization. The foundation has sought to identify the places where the greatest impact of its donor dollars could be made. As science and society have changed, some programs have been successfully concluded. BrightFocus is proud of the societal impact made by the donors to these programs, and it counts these programs' successes among the achievements of the organization. Thus, BrightFocus includes its contributions to these programs in statements regarding the historical impact of the foundation.