Moses Chao, one of the wisest men I know, and a leading NYU neuroscientist, has been warning me for two years about the danger of not finding a cure for Alzheimer's, a debilitating disease of the brain that currently affects some 5 million Americans over the age of 65. He fervently believes that someday 50% of Americans over 85 will have some form of Alzheimer's -- and the cost of caring for them could bankrupt the nation. Some half of all patients with Alzheimer's are expected to be in the severe stage at a cost of $20 trillion over the next 40 years.
Chao is President of the American Neuroscience Association and a key decision-maker as to which scientists are able to get research money to study the brain from the National Institute of Health. Chao's greatest anxiety is that research funds could be reduced just as the projections of older Americans with Alzheimer's is expected to rise close to 15 million by 2050. The impact of aged relatives with some form of dementia -- and no cure -- is horrific.
In truth, when compared to federal funding for other diseases, Alzheimer's is getting very short shrift. It is terribly underfunded. Last year cancer research obtained $7 billion for research; heart disease got $4 billion, HIV research was awarded $3 billion -- and bringing up the rear, the debilitating Alzheimer's disease -- a measly $450 million.
This shocking example of underfunding comes at a time when The Alzheimer's Association says "There are currently no known treatments to prevent, cure or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease."
Chao was extremely moved by attending the "ONE MIND For Research" Conference in Boston last May, where brain specialists, drug researchers, psychiatrists and neurologists gathered to promote the "Next Frontier of the Brain Forum," sponsored by Patrick Kennedy, a son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy.
It was clear from the lack of insight in preventing Alzheimer's, or even predicting its onset, that "we don't know the normal function of the protein that causes neuro-degenerative diseases. Our knowledge is inadequate. We need more information -- and it takes more money to get more information," Chao insists. "Everyone wants to extend their life and we need vastly more money for research into the brain."
Yes, there are many groups and labs at medical schools testing various drugs in clinical trials in the hopes of slowing down the progress of the illness. Nothing has been proven to work in humans yet, which means that older Americans with the disease must be cared for on almost a 24 hour/7 days a week basis. This costly requirement will place another severe strain on the Medicare health insurance plan -- which must be cut in future years to reduce the nation's debt.