Intel And Stanford University Announce New Alzheimer's Disease Research Program

Intel Philanthropic Peer-to-Peer Computing Program to Help Accelerate Alzheimer's Research

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 17, 2001 - Intel Corporation and Stanford University, with the support of the Alzheimer's Association, today announced Intel's second peer-to-peer philanthropic program: the Stanford Alzheimer and Amyloidogenic Disease Research Program. The program, along with the Web site, intel.com/cure, allows computer users to download "screensavers" that run in the background when the computer is on, but not in use. This, essentially, creates a virtual network of computers donating unused computing cycles to scientific research. The technology is similar to the kind of computing carried out by large supercomputers. This significantly increases computing capabilities for scientific researchers at substantially reduced cost.

This new scientific research program will lead to a better understanding of diseases that may be caused by misfolding proteins or prions, also known as amyloidogenic diseases. The program will help identify how and why some proteins misfold by simulating on a computer the conditions that cause proteins to misfold. By simulating the cause and effects in a program, various variables can be studied that would take a long time and be difficult to do in the lab. The proteins that are being studied are not only specific to Alzheimer's, but also type II diabetes and Mad Cow. This research will help understand other amyloidogenic diseases as well, such as Parkinson's disease and ALS. When researchers begin to understand why some proteins misfold, it will relate to why other proteins misfold.

"Thanks to the power of peer-to-peer technology, scientific research and the PC have become powerful allies to help fight some of the world's most damaging diseases," said Patrick Gelsinger, Intel's chief technology officer. "Since we announced the effort to create the world's largest virtual supercomputer last April, more than 1 million PCs have joined Intel in the first program to aid philanthropic research. The effort has generated more computational power than the top 10 supercomputers combined in order to help increase the speed of scientific discovery."

"This computing power makes it possible to do simulations that were only dreamed of before," said Professor Vijay Pande of Stanford University's Pande Group and project director. "Peer-to-Peer computing is likely the next computational revolution in biomedical research."

The Philanthropic Peer-to-Peer Program gives computer owners the opportunity to use their spare personal computing resources to perform scientific research. PC owners first download a small computer program from www.intel.com/cure. After running the downloaded file, the program is installed on the user's computer and automatically begins computing; it runs whenever computation resources are available. The program is similar to a screensaver that operates during normal computer use, without intervention by the user. Once processing is complete, typically a day later, the program sends the results back to Stanford University and requests a new packet of data the next time the user connects to the Internet.

"The Alzheimer's Association is delighted at the possibilities this new technology brings to advancing Alzheimer's research," said William Thies, PhD, vice president for medical and scientific affairs at the Alzheimer's Association. "We are facing a global Alzheimer epidemic and it is only through science and research that we can defeat this terrible disease. This innovative research program gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to solving the mysteries of Alzheimer's disease every time they turn on their personal computers."

This research program is not designed to directly find a drug or a cure, but by studying why these proteins misfold, scientists will begin to figure out ways to prevent and correct protein misfolding. While not very well understood, one belief is that Alzheimer's is caused by a build up of plaques in the brain, and caused by proteins that begin folding incorrectly. This will even help scientists understand many misfolding diseases beyond Alzheimer's.

Stanford University researchers from the Pande Group created the software that performs the scientific calculations, based on TINKER by Prof. Jay Ponder at Washington University, and will evaluate the program results. Mithral Communications & Design Inc. provided the distributed software infrastructure that enables the application to perform the calculations on thousands of computers. The program incorporates a comprehensive system of security and privacy technologies to protect user privacy. This program is based on the folding@home program currently run by the Pande Group.

The Alzheimer's Association is the premier source of information and support for the 4 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease. Through its national network of chapters, it offers a broad range of programs and services for people with the disease, their families, and caregivers, and represents their interests on Alzheimer-related issues before federal, state, and local government and with health and long-term care providers. The largest private funder of Alzheimer research, the association has committed nearly $120 million toward research into the causes, treatment, prevention, and cure of Alzheimer's. For more information, call (800) 272-3900 or visit www.alz.org.

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