GRAND FORKS N.D.

University of North Dakota medical school officials say the National Institutes of Health has renewed a $10 million grant for research into such diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The school got a $10.3 million grant in 2002.

Dr. H. David Wilson, the medical school dean, said the renewal of the five-year grant will allow researchers to continue to look for ways to treat diseases that affect North Dakotans.

"Parkinson's disease, in particular, is more prevalent in rural states like ours," Wilson said. "Certainly we have one of the more elderly populations of any state in the country, so we are certainly interested in Alzheimer's disease."

Wilson also said the medical school will be able to use the latest grant to get others.

While the UND school is small compared to such places as Harvard or Johns Hopkins, he said, "when you have this type of success, it means something really good is happening at a tiny medical school."

Information from: Doug Barrett/KNOX-AM, http://knoxradio.com

- Asociated Press

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