Gates donates £38m to boost dementia fight

BILL Gates said he is giving £38 million to help fight Alzheimer’s disease.

The Microsoft co-founder said the donation to the Dementia Discovery Fund is personal and not through his charitable foundation.

The London-based private fund is backed by government, charities and pharmaceutical firms and seeks new treatments for the progressive, irreversible neurological disease.

Mr Gates said men in his family have suffered from Alzheimer’s, adding that he is hopeful that in time Alzheimer’s could be a chronic condition treatable with medication.

Mr Gates said the first treatments for the disease might not be feasible for a decade or more and would initially be expensive.