Little Quilts Pay Off

Just received wonderful news from AAQI Blog Update and I want to share with you.


AAQI Update Blog
Quilters Finance Alzheimer’s Discovery!

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 12:18 PM PST

We have just learned that the research financed by the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) and carried out by Dr. Mi Hee Lim and her colleagues at the University of Michigan has yielded positive results! Their research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and if you google “Unraveling Alzheimer’s: Simple small molecules could untangle complex disease” you’ll see that thousands of web pages are carrying the story.
In March the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative awarded a $30,000 grant to the University of Michigan. This was the third of six research grants awarded by the AAQI so far. We hand-delivered the check to Dr. Lim and brought quilts to show too.

We explained that the money we were giving came from quilters across the country, most of whom stitch for us in memory of someone they have lost to Alzheimer’s. Each stitch is a prayer for a cure. We talked about the personal toll this takes on both the person with Alzheimer’s and their family, and how art has a way of touching hearts. For many people who are hurting, quilting is a way of coping and grieving.It was an amazing visit. I am so glad that we got that opportunity.

We now have proof that what we do with a needle and thread can truly make a difference.
Because of our funding, Dr Lim and her team were able to create new molecular tools that show promise for cleansing the brain of amyloid plaques. These plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, are clumps of misfolded proteins thought to cause cell death leading to devastating memory loss and cognitive decline.

Please see our press release for more details on this research. To see the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative listed right next to the National Institutes of Health on one of the thousands of web sites carrying this story, click here. (Last line.)

To everyone who has supported the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative — whether you threaded your needle, opened your wallet, or helped spread the word — EVERYONE can take pride in knowing that what they did has moved us just a little bit closer to a cure! The road ahead is still very long, but…

NEVER underestimate the power of quilters! Celebratory donations in any amount are also welcome! There is much more research to fund!
Thank you for your continued support,Ami SimmsFounder & Executive DirectorAlzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiativehttp://www.alzquilts.org/810 637-5586

Join the cause and make an AAQI Quilt and as always Happy Quilting!