The United States Congress struck a deal on Tuesday which would increase funding for Alzheimer’s research by $350 million, which translates into a more than 50 percent increase for the 2016 fiscal year
If the deal is approved by the White House, it would still require, according to an Alzheimer’s Association convened panel’s estimate, a lot more than that to develop a cure or disease-modifying drugs by the year 2025. In order achieve either by 2025, a minimum annual investment to the tune of $2 billion will be required, according to the panel.
The $350 million annual increase would raise the budget to roughly half of the annual requirement, about $1 billion.
Those advocating on behalf of Alzheimer’s research have been pushing for increased spending for a long time – claiming that the funding should match that of heart disease, cancer and HIV/AIDS, the Washington Post reports.
Ronald Petersen, director of both the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging as well as the Mayo Alzheimer’s Research Center, was quoted by the Washington Post as having said that this is “perhaps some of the most encouraging news we’ve had on Alzheimer’s disease in several years” and that it’s “truly very, very exciting in the field.”
Petersen noted that while we might not be there yet in terms of funding, if the budget were to increase by $350 million a year, we’d have reached the $2 billion a year funding goal by the year 2020.
Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, indicated in a statement that the association believed that it “could work with congressional leaders to make this happen” and now, with the historic announcement, their “effort has been realized.”
Johns went on to refer to the decision as “a necessary next step” in America’s “journey” to bring an end to the Alzheimer’s “epidemic.”
The Alzheimer’s Association believed we could work with congressional leaders to make this happen and our effort was realized with today’s historic announcement. Congressional champions from both sides of the aisle have heard the appeals from leading scientists convened by the Alzheimer’s Association and the hundreds of thousands of advocates we have led. They have answered with a bold, strategic decision to invest in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, which is a necessary next step in our country’s journey to end this epidemic
The Alzheimer’s Association’s states that it envisions a world without the progressive, degenerative disorder known as Alzheimer’s disease.
In other news about the disease, a recently published study has found potential health benefits for those who consume moderate amounts of alcohol on a daily basis.
