Patients
Because everyone deserves to live a full life.
We’re driven by a simple belief: that people living with, or at risk for, neurodegenerative diseases deserve better options. Behind every data point in our research is a patient, a caregiver, a family – and that is what keeps us moving forward.
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Lewy body dementia each rob people of something precious – memory, movement, independence, identity. These conditions remain without a cure, and the need for new approaches has never been greater. At Alector, we are working to change that, building a preclinical pipeline aimed at addressing the underlying biology of neurodegeneration and giving patients and families real reason for hope.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease and the most common cause of dementia. It slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out even the simplest daily tasks, as amyloid plaques and other pathological changes accumulate in the brain over time.
An estimated 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are currently living with Alzheimer’s dementia.1 Absent new treatments that can prevent or cure the disease, that number is projected to rise to 13.8 million by 2060 as the U.S. population ages.2
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive movement disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, often accompanied by the abnormal accumulation of the protein alpha-synuclein. It leads to tremor, stiffness, and slowed movement, and can also affect cognition as the disease advances.
More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with Parkinson’s disease, with nearly 90,000 new diagnoses each year in the U.S.3 That number is projected to reach approximately 1.2 million people by 2030.4
Lewy Body Dementia
Lewy body dementia is an umbrella term for a group of progressive brain disorders, including dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), caused by abnormal deposits of alpha-synuclein protein, called Lewy bodies, in the brain. It can affect memory, thinking, movement, sleep, and behavior, often including visual hallucinations.
LBD is the second most common form of degenerative dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, affecting an estimated 1.4 million Americans.5
Our GBA-targeted therapy, AL050, is designed for gene mutation carriers with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, aiming to restore GCase enzyme activity and reduce the buildup of substances in neurons that contribute to neurodegeneration in these related conditions.
