As an advocate for Alzheimer’s care and research, I applaud Senators Tom Harkin, Arlen Specter and Representative David Obey and Jerry Lewis for their leadership in proposing the largest increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in five years. Much of the world-class research conducted in the United States and the scientific and advances that our health care system relies on are made possible through NIH funding. This vital work gives hope to American families who are facing terrible diseases like Alzheimer’s, now the sixth leading cause of death in America.

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease that has no cure or effective treatment to halt or delay its progression and costs Medicare and Medicaid more than $100 billion annually. However, at last month’s Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers reported on an unprecedented number of drugs and diverse avenues of focus that show promise to slow or stop the disease’s advancement. This, along with improvements in diagnostic tools could very well change the outlook of Alzheimer’s disease. But these tremendous strides will quickly evaporate if there isn’t sustained investment in scientific research.

With as many as 5.2 million Americans living with disease, nearly 230,000 in Ohio alone, every citizen in every state and Congressional district is depending on our elected officials to make Alzheimer’s disease a national priority.

This funding proposal signals a renewed commitment to eliminating diseases like Alzheimer’s, but more is needed.

Ohio voters are calling on Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown and Representative Betty Sutton to make this proposal a reality and vote on its passage.

Bob Pacanovsky
Volunteer advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association of Akron