At IU School of Medicine, researchers are leading a global effort to understand and treat early-onset Alzheimer's disease—the form that strikes people under age 65. This devastating condition disrupts careers, families and futures. Through the Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (LEADS), IU investigators are charting the earliest biological and clinical signs of the disease to accelerate diagnosis and treatment.

Under the leadership of Liana Apostolova, MD, MS, the Barbara and Peer Baekgaard Professor of Alzheimer's Disease Research, IU serves as the international coordinating center for LEADS—the most extensive study of its kind. With support from the National Institutes of Health, LEADS follows hundreds of participants at 18 U.S. and five international sites, gathering advanced MRI and PET imaging, spinal fluid, blood samples, and genetic data. These insights are transforming our understanding of how Alzheimer's begins and progresses in younger adults.

Philanthropy plays a pivotal role. Gifts to the Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Research Fund in Neurology empower IU scientists to launch pilot projects, explore innovative imaging and biomarker techniques, and recruit diverse participants to ensure discoveries benefit all communities. Donor support also helps train the next generation of neurologists and neuroscientists, strengthening Indiana's role as a national leader in Alzheimer's research.

Your contribution fuels progress toward earlier detection, better treatments, and—ultimately—a future free from Alzheimer's disease. Together, we can transform fear into hope for those facing the earliest signs of dementia.