4 ms·

Funny, I remember contacting the Gates foundation many years ago now about chronic illnesses and the then-new discovery of ipRGCs/pRGCs (which we will find have

Funny, I remember contacting the Gates foundation many years ago now about chronic illnesses and the then-new discovery of ipRGCs/pRGCs (which we will find have a critical role in Alzheimer's) and hitting a total brick wall. Paraphrasing them, "this wouldn't help the third world" - we know better now.

stdgy 9y ago
Bill addresses this in the piece: I’m making this investment on my own, not through the foundation. The first Alzheimer’s treatments might not come to fruition for another decade or more, and they will be very expensive at first. Once that day comes, our foundation might look at how we can expand access in poor countries. It's intriguing they're able to draw that line, but it makes sense if they want to keep the Gates Foundation focused.
- Nomentatus 9y ago
  But note that obesity and diabetes (Alzheimer's is sometimes called diabetes 3 and called part of the metabolic syndrome) are now hitting the third world HARD. Something that was highly predictable, and which I feared and mentioned at the time.
  - allenz 9y ago
    The Gates foundation allocates funds based on dollars per Daly (disability-adjusted year) impact. Alzheimer's is important research but it doesn't meet that criterion. Unlike metabolic syndrome (under the traditional definition), Alzheimer's is overwhelmingly late-onset, and the research is also riskier and more expensive.
    - Nomentatus 9y ago
      You jest. Grab some of the estimates of just how staggering the costs will be to us of Alzheimer's alone; as for the third world chronic illness (obesity, diabetes) is already beginning to crush their nascent medical systems. As clearly stated above I contacted them re chronic illness as a whole, not Alzheimer's specifically.
reasonattlm 9y ago
The burden of aging falls most heavily on the poor, though it has to be said that the differences between rich and poor are small in comparison to the absolute degree of harm done by aging. It has been a disappointment to see the Gates Foundation near entirely bypass this area of research up to fairly recently, presumably because they do hold this strange view of aging being either a non-issue, or a problem of wealthy regions. From a utilitarian perspective, nothing that goes on in the poorest parts of the world rises to the level of harm done by age-related disease. Not even close.
- dennis_jeeves 9y ago
  + 1 to this.
- vidarh 9y ago
  The point, though, is that there is a whole lot of wealthy older people who can or do put money into research on aging related problems, exactly because it affects rich people too. There is no danger that aging will be overlooked.
bluGill 9y ago
Nothing will help the third world more than effective vaccines for children so that living past 5 is not an anomaly. I would expect the Gates foundation to focus on that. Quality of life for old people is a nice thing, but not on the same level. As a rule when children normally live to adulthood population growth halts soon after.
- vidarh 9y ago
  Life expectancy at birth in Africa is today just under 70 years. Which means they currently lag ~50 years after the most developed countries. There are countries that do worse, but even in the most underdeveloped, war ravaged hell-holes in the world living past 5 is not an anomaly - as of 2012 even in sub-Saharan Africa the under 5 mortality rate was down below 100 per 1000 (though still awful - compare with 6 per 1000 for the most developed countries and a world average of 48), and even the very worst - Sierra Leone - was at 234 out of a 1000. Only a handful of countries are anywhere near 200, and only 16 above 100. I agree with your overall point about focus, but exaggerating is not useful.

stdgy 9y ago

Bill addresses this in the piece: I’m making this investment on my own, not through the foundation. The first Alzheimer’s treatments might not come to fruition for another decade or more, and they will be very expensive at first. Once that day comes, our foundation might look at how we can expand access in poor countries. It's intriguing they're able to draw that line, but it makes sense if they want to keep the Gates Foundation focused.

Nomentatus 9y ago
But note that obesity and diabetes (Alzheimer's is sometimes called diabetes 3 and called part of the metabolic syndrome) are now hitting the third world HARD. Something that was highly predictable, and which I feared and mentioned at the time.
- allenz 9y ago
  The Gates foundation allocates funds based on dollars per Daly (disability-adjusted year) impact. Alzheimer's is important research but it doesn't meet that criterion. Unlike metabolic syndrome (under the traditional definition), Alzheimer's is overwhelmingly late-onset, and the research is also riskier and more expensive.
  - Nomentatus 9y ago
    You jest. Grab some of the estimates of just how staggering the costs will be to us of Alzheimer's alone; as for the third world chronic illness (obesity, diabetes) is already beginning to crush their nascent medical systems. As clearly stated above I contacted them re chronic illness as a whole, not Alzheimer's specifically.

reasonattlm 9y ago

The burden of aging falls most heavily on the poor, though it has to be said that the differences between rich and poor are small in comparison to the absolute degree of harm done by aging. It has been a disappointment to see the Gates Foundation near entirely bypass this area of research up to fairly recently, presumably because they do hold this strange view of aging being either a non-issue, or a problem of wealthy regions. From a utilitarian perspective, nothing that goes on in the poorest parts of the world rises to the level of harm done by age-related disease. Not even close.

dennis_jeeves 9y ago
+ 1 to this.
vidarh 9y ago
The point, though, is that there is a whole lot of wealthy older people who can or do put money into research on aging related problems, exactly because it affects rich people too. There is no danger that aging will be overlooked.

bluGill 9y ago

Nothing will help the third world more than effective vaccines for children so that living past 5 is not an anomaly. I would expect the Gates foundation to focus on that. Quality of life for old people is a nice thing, but not on the same level. As a rule when children normally live to adulthood population growth halts soon after.

vidarh 9y ago
Life expectancy at birth in Africa is today just under 70 years. Which means they currently lag ~50 years after the most developed countries. There are countries that do worse, but even in the most underdeveloped, war ravaged hell-holes in the world living past 5 is not an anomaly - as of 2012 even in sub-Saharan Africa the under 5 mortality rate was down below 100 per 1000 (though still awful - compare with 6 per 1000 for the most developed countries and a world average of 48), and even the very worst - Sierra Leone - was at 234 out of a 1000. Only a handful of countries are anywhere near 200, and only 16 above 100. I agree with your overall point about focus, but exaggerating is not useful.