Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Urges Congress to Pass Bill This Fall

Boston—Praising lawmakers for recognizing the importance of finding a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund commended the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for passing promising legislation with strong funding and language backing Alzheimer’s research. 

“We applaud the Committee for their support and call for more research and discovery in the field of Alzheimer’s,” said Tim Armour, President and CEO of Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. “With 5.2 million Americans currently battling this devastating disease and many Baby Boomers reaching the at-risk age, research is critical to better understand Alzheimer’s in hopes of finding more effective treatments and preventing this disease.”

The appropriations are part of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and other related agencies, for the 2010 Fiscal Year.

Advancements in the research could lessen the growing burden— both financial and emotional— that Alzheimer’s puts on society. In 2004, 25 percent of the combined Medicare and Medicaid expenses (about $122 billion) went to Alzheimer’s care.  Alzheimer’s alone could single-handedly bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid within the next decade if left unchecked.

Dedicated to Alzheimer’s research, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund has set forth an ambitious and aggressive national research strategy setting a 10-year goal for the development of effective therapies and discovery of an eventual cure for this devastating disease.

“When President Kennedy challenged our nation to land on the moon by the end of the 1960s, we met that challenge with fervor. Finding a cure for Alzheimer’s is no less daunting, but with the advances in research and technology it is in our reach,” said Armour. “This renewed dedication and commitment to research from Senate appropriators is a encouraging step toward reaching that goal.

“We urge the full Senate and House to remain supportive of this bill as it moves through the legislative process this fall,” Armour continued.  “It could help change the lives of the millions of Americans and their families struggling with this devastating disease today.”