President Obama signs law to increase funding for Alzheimer's research, education

Alzheimer's AssociationJan 18 2014

At the urging of the Alzheimer's Association and its more than 600,000 advocates, the funding bill signed into law today by President Obama contained an unprecedented $122 million increase for Alzheimer's research, education, outreach and caregiver support. The Alzheimer's Association applauds the Obama administration for calling for increased Alzheimer's funding in the President's Fiscal Year 2014 budget and Congress for providing funding to enable the continued, effective implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. Both the Administration and Congress have recognized the unfolding Alzheimer's crisis and worked in a bipartisan fashion to strengthen Alzheimer's care and support while accelerating research toward therapies that can slow, stop and ultimately prevent this disease.

"The Alzheimer's Association celebrates this significant milestone with our more than 600,000 advocates who have been relentless in their efforts given the current fiscal climate. Their determination and passion are second to none," said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association. "We commend President Obama for including Alzheimer's in his budget request and Congress for providing additional resources to convert scientific opportunity into life-changing outcomes. We look forward to continuing to work together with both the Administration and Congress to build further momentum toward overcoming this devastating disease. It will be through collaboration and ongoing resource commitments that we will meet the goal of the National Alzheimer's Plan of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025."

As the world's leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research, the Alzheimer's Association leads collaborative efforts in the fight against Alzheimer's stateside and worldwide.  Global Alzheimer's Association Interactive Network (GAAIN) is an open-access, big data resource which gives researchers rapid access to data to accelerate research efforts. The International Alzheimer's Disease Research Portfolio (IADRP), a database of global research, which is a partnership of the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association. In December 2013, Johns participated in the G8 Dementia Summit in London, stressing the need for collaboration in addressing this worldwide epidemic impacting at least 44 million people around the globe. The Alzheimer's Association is also the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's research, awarding over $315 million to more than 2,200 scientists since 1982, and uses its own resources to actively contribute to public private partnerships with government and industry, such as the recently announced Accelerating Medicines Partnership – Alzheimer's Disease program.

The new federal funding allocated for Alzheimer's disease includes a $100 million increase for the National Institute on Aging for Alzheimer's research, which will be added to what the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates will be $484 million in Alzheimer's research funding across NIH in fiscal year 2013. A further $3.3 million has been provided to support Alzheimer's caregivers, $4 million to train health professionals on issues related to Alzheimer's disease, $10.5 million to expand the home and community based caregiver services and $4.2 million for outreach activities to raise awareness. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health's BRAIN Initiative will receive $30 million to support brain research that could impact several diseases, including Alzheimer's.

There are currently more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and that number is poised to grow to as many as 16 million by 2050, according the Alzheimer's Association 2013 Alzheimer's Disease Facts & Figures report. In addition to the human toll of the disease, care for Alzheimer's, the country's most expensive condition, costs the nation $203 billion annually with projections to reach $1.2 trillion by 2050. Yet for every $27,000 Medicare and Medicaid spend on caring for individuals with Alzheimer's, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends only $100 on Alzheimer's research.