Posted under Uncategorized on December 22nd, 2014 by Editorial Team / No Comments

Last week, the Alzheimer’s Association received exciting news as the US Congress made a long term commitment to elevate Alzheimer’s research funding from 2015 by announcing the new Alzheimer’s Accountability Act. Alongside a $25 million increase in Alzheimer’s research, the act ensures that the scientific judgement of the National Institutes of Health will guide Congress in future funding decisions.

In America, where five million citizens are currently living with the disease, Alzheimer’s currently costs the nation a whopping $214 billion a year. Despite the economic burden of the disease, for every $26,500 spent by the government only $100 is invested in research around it.

There is currently no known prevention for Alzheimer’s disease or way of delaying its progression - nor is there any known cure. The promise of increasing research funding in 2015 will help to reduce the economic burden of Alzheimer’s on America, and also give hope worldwide to millions of Alzheimer’s sufferers and their carers by helping to find treatments for the disease. But if effective preventions for the disease are not developed, then an estimated 75.6 million people will suffer from Alzheimer’s around the globe by 2030.

If not prevented, such a rise in Alzheimer’s sufferers would create a huge demand on healthcare services, and patients’ families. But the recent announcement for increased funding is a positive step towards finding much needed treatments for a growing population in need. 

Tags: Alzheimer's Association, national institutes of health