CHICAGO (AP) - Alzheimer's research in Chicago is getting a big boost from the federal government.

The National Institute on Aging announced Monday that $4.7 million in American Recovery Act money will fund research on mental decline in older black Americans.

Dr. Denis Evans at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is involved. He'll collect and analyze DNA from more than 4,000 blacks
enrolled in aging studies in Chicago and Indianapolis.

Data from this analysis will help identify risk factor genes for mental decline and late-onset Alzheimer's.

More than 100 Alzheimer's or Alzheimer's-related research grants have been awarded under the Recovery Act.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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