The Caring Corner®

Research Boost for Alzheimer’s

January 2, 2016
Just in time for the New Year, Congress gave us a gift.  The 2016 federal budget increased Alzheimer’s research by 60%, to a total of $936 million/year.  This is huge.  Despite many efforts by the pharmaceutical industry, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s.  There is much we do not know about the disease, and it’s only through research that we will find a cure.
The reality is that it’s not enough.  Experts say we should be investing about $2 billion/year in federal research.   You might say, “Isn’t that a lot of money?”  It is until you realize that we spend about $225 billion/year caring for people who have Alzheimer’s and other dementias.   What’s even more shocking is that the cost of care is projected to quintuple to almost $1.3 trillion/year by 2050.
Taken in this light, the federal research budget is tiny.  We hope for continued increases in the future.

Filed in: News

What's On Your Mind?

Trackback URL | RSS Feed for This Entry