It's estimated that around 7 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, a number that's

expected to double by 2060.

But researchers have found that some of the highest rates of cognitive impairment and dementia

exist in a population that's long been one of the most difficult to study, Native Americans.

Stephanie Syre recently traveled to Seattle to understand why.

And so this is a full-sized brain.

Inside this laboratory at UW Medicine in Seattle,

scientists study brains hands-on, both healthy and diseased.

And so in Alzheimer's disease, the brain atrophies it starts to shrink. brains hands-on, both healthy and diseased.

And so in Alzheimer's disease, the brain atrophies it starts to shrink.

Dr. Durk Keene leads the lab where more than 4,000 human brains are preserved for science.

So this person may have Alzheimer's disease, they may have Lewybody disease, they may have some tiny

little strokes that we call microinfarks, all contributing to their dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is marked by abnormal protein deposits in the brain.

This lab houses one of the nation's leading Alzheimer's projects.

You look at the microscope, it's so cool, right?

The goal, to analyze brain tissue in hopes of unlocking new treatments and cures for the

disease that is the leading cause of dementia among older adults.

The greatest gift you can give to science, I think, is your brain.

It's really the gift that keeps on giving. The brain bank depends on brain donations, some of which have been stored and studied for more than 40 years.

But there is a key gap. Among the thousands of brains in the repository, less than five have been donated from Native Americans.

So the fact that we don't have very many Native American donor brains

...