President Barack Obama will reportedly request $80 million in new money from Congress next week to spend on Alzeheimer’s research in 2013, The Associated Press reports. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health will also pledge more money towards Alzeheimer’s research.
Alzheimer’s patient advocates have long stated that the U.S. does not spend enough money on research to find effective treatments for the brain destroying disease.
“The science of Alzheimer’s disease has reached a very interesting juncture,” said National Institutes Director Dr. Francis Collins, in an interview with The Associated Press. “We would love to be able to come up with a way of bringing forward an even larger amount of support.”
The money will likely go towards funding reopening an NIH study into a therapy for the disease. That study was recently halted because of a lack of funding, a move that supporters of Alzeheimer’s research criticized at the time.
Alzheimer’s disesase is different for every individual diagnosed with the disease, however, it is most commonly found in people over the age of 60.
The disease greatly alters the brain’s thinking abilities, memory functions, and can cause mood swings and often contributes in the cause of death in patients.
The NIH estimates that currently there are more than 5 million American citizens suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is growing. The disease is irreversible, and without a treatment, patients are simply faced with suffering from the various symptoms of the disease.
“This new funding will accelerate NIH efforts to use the power of science to develop new ways of helping people with Alzheimer’s disease and those at risk,” said Ms. Collins.
Although the boost in funding is needed, it remains to be seen whether Congress would grant an additional $80 million in spending on research during this crucial time. Both chambers of Congress are trying to find ways to reduce government spending and lower the national deficit, which currently exceeds $15 trillion.
The announcement comes as critics of Mr. Obama’s plan have said recently revised a criteria could mislead patients and their families. Nearly all people currently diagnosed with very mild or mild Alzheimer’s disease dementia would be classified instead as having mild cognitive impairment, akin to slight memory loss, according to scientists studying the change.
The National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association convened a work group to update the criteria for it, which were published in May of 2011, and the group has since worked with doctors to implement the new changes.
In January of 2011, President Obama signed legislation calling for a nationally coordinated plan to find treatment for the disease. In 2012, the U.S. will spend $450 million on research for Alzheimer’s disease.
Mr. Obama will also seek money from Congress to go towards the families of patients that have Alzheimer’s disease, to help with any associated costs of caring for the patient. The Obama administration’s National Alzheimer’s Plan has a goal of finding new treatments for Alzeheimer’s disease by the year 2025.
Neither the Obama administration nor members of Congress have commented on Mr. Obama’s pending request for more money to go towards funding Alzheimer’s research.
