The Caring Corner®
$350 Million Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease Approved by Congress
Congress has passed the federal budget allocating $350 million toward the funding of research for Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s is a progressive and degenerative disease believed to be caused by the build-up of amyloid plaque in the brain that causes brain cells to die. Alzheimer’s Disease is currently one of the top causes of death in the US, but the only one among the top ten that doesn’t have any known cure or treatment.
The risk for dementia also increases with age. Currently, one in three seniors is expected to die from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Women are most affected by the disease. Alzheimer’s is a serious threat not only because of the devastating symptoms, growing number of cases and difficulty of diagnosis, but also because of the tremendous health care costs. By 2050, it will cost the government over a trillion dollars unless treatment can be found.
The Alzheimer’s Association is currently working on treating the disease by 2025, but it needs extensive funding. The $350 million budget is over a 50% increase in current funding. However, the most ideal budget is over $1billion a year. Comparatively, cancer research receives $6 billion in funding and heart disease receives $2 billion in funding annually.
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