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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe Can’t Wait: Obama Administration proposes a historic $156 million investment to combat Alzheimer'
This week, we proposed a historic $156 million investment to tackle Alzheimers disease. This investment will:
Immediately Increase Alzheimers Disease Research Funding: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will immediately dedicate an additional $50 million from its fiscal year 2012 funding to Alzheimers research.
Sustain and Grow the Alzheimers Research Investment: The Presidents fiscal year 2013 budget will include $80 million in new Alzheimers research funding. Together, fiscal years 2012 and 2013 investments total $130 million in new Alzheimers research funding over two years over 25 percent more than the current annual Alzheimers research investment.
Support the Goals of the Preliminary National Alzheimers Disease Plan: This initiative also includes $26 million to support additional goals in the preliminary National Alzheimers Disease Plan. While the plan continues to be developed, experts have identified several high-priority goals that will be supported by the announcement, including:
Education and outreach to improve the publics understanding of Alzheimers disease starting this year;
Outreach to enhance health care providers knowledge of the disease;
Expanded support for Alzheimers patients and caregivers in the community;
Improved data collection and analysis to better understand Alzheimers diseases impact on people with the disease, families and the health care system.
These investments build on the Presidents commitment to fighting Alzheimers disease.In January 2011, President Obama signed the National Alzheimer's Project Act, which calls for an aggressive and coordinated national Alzheimers disease plan. The Act also establishes an Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services, which brings together some of the Nation's foremost experts on Alzheimer's disease to inform the development of the national plan.
The time to take on Alzheimers disease is now. Without a cure or more effective treatment, Alzheimers is expected to grow more prevalent as the population ages. Failure to invest now will place significant strain on our nations health care resources in future years. If no effective strategies are found for Alzheimers treatment or prevention, the number of people with Alzheimers disease and the annual health care costs associated with Alzheimers disease are projected to rise significantly in the coming years. Which is why we cant wait.
Kathleen Sebelius is Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/09/we-can-t-wait-taking-action-alzheimer-s-disease
Little Star
(17,055 posts)bullwinkle428
(20,629 posts)by CWRU's (my alma mater) School of Medicine!
"A drug thats already approved by the FDA has shown promise in clearing away a plaque in the brain thats associated with Alzheimers disease, Case Western Reserve University researchers have found.
The drug, bexarotene (brand name Targetin) in mice was able to reduce levels of Beta-amyloid plaque, a protein fragment that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimers, according to a statement from the university.
Case touted the research as a dramatic breakthrough in [the] effort to find a cure for Alzheimers disease, but its important to note that research wont mean anything for people suffering from Alzheimers until the results are replicated in humans, and thatll likely take several years. Nonetheless, the findings certainly represent a ray of hope in someday treating Alzheimers patients."
http://www.medcitynews.com/2012/02/cwru-researchers-drug-shows-promise-in-reducing-alzheimers-plaque-in-brain/?edition=ohio
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Thanks for posting this good news.