A swimmer from Slovenia is taking the fight against Alzheimer’s disease to the water.

On Feb. 1, Martin Strel, a record-holding marathon swimmer, will begin swimming the Amazon River from Atalaya, Peru, to the Atlantic Ocean in Belém, Brazil – 3,375 miles. Strel has dedicated his 70-day effort to raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, preserving the rainforest and promoting telemedicine as a valuable tool in bringing modern medicine to remote areas.

Following Strel on his trek will be the Amazon Virtual Medical Team (AVMT), which includes clinical, research and telemedicine specialists from around the world who will provide him with health care services using telemedicine and advance technologies.

In addition, the AVMT will conduct Alzheimer research in indigenous areas of the Amazon in Brazil and Peru to determine the prevalence and incidence of the disease.

The AVMT is part of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group, supported financially by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). The 10/66 group is named for a worldwide imbalance in research expenditures that it aims to correct: Less than 10 percent of all population-based dementia research is directed toward the 66 percent or more of all people with dementia who live in developing countries.

For more information on Strel’s journey or the AVMT, contact Mateja de Leonni Stanonik, M.D., Ph.D, co-director of the AVMT and a neuroscientist at the University of Tennessee, or visit www.amazonswim.com.