Research Offers Hope For Those With Alzheimer’s (NAPSA)—There’s both chal- lenging and hopeful news concern- ing Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a disease that strikes mostly seniors, robbing its victims of their mem- ory. The disease can incapacitate people for a decade or more and finally rob them oftheir lives. Cases expected to grow The numberof cases of the dis- ease is expected to triple in 40 years because the condition is associated with aging, and people the world over are living longer. It’s now estimated that 5.1 million Americans may one day have Alzheimer’s disease. That’s according to a new report produced by the Alzheimer’s Association and Maria Shriver. By 2050, given the aging of America, that number is expected to grow to 13.5 million. America’s economywill be a victim, too. Today, the cost of caring for Alzheimer’s patients is $172 billion a year. By 2050, the cost will o ass i} Y OAT a ‘DIDS SCE Today, the cost of caring for Alzheimer’s patients is $172 billion a year. By 2050, the cost will explode to over $1 trillion annually. possible medicines for dementia, mostly Alzheimer’s, either in clini- cal trials or under FDAreview. Drug developmentis a risky busi- ness. Despite average investments of over $1 billion for each new medicine, there are no guarantees of success. But the historic num- explode to over $1 trillion annually—nearly 25 times more than ber of new medicines in develop- Research and treatment Fortunately, there is hope. The hope, experts say, lies with medical science. A better understanding of the disease has opened new delay the onset of Alzheimer’s by five years would cut the expected numberof victims from 13.5 million in 2050 to 7.7 million. That hypothetical treatment would cut costs by $447 billion in the year 2050. peer into the brains of patients or cure Alzheimer’s—that’s the this year’s budget for the Department of Homeland Security. pathways of exploration for a treatmentor cure. For example, scientists can now mentis bringing new hope. New medicines maycut costs A treatment that could merely A treatment that could prevent through new imaging techniques that were greatly assisted by the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimag- main goal. For manyscientists project begun in 2004 involving biopharmaceutical research com- tle they mean to win. For more information, visit ing Initiative, a collaborative panies, medical device companies, nonprofits, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Today, America’s biopharmaceutical companies have nearly 100 who work for America’s biophar- maceutical companies, the fight against Alzheimer’s is a daily bat- www.PhRMA.org. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) may be able to help those who are uninsured and having trouble paying for their medicines. Learn more at www.PPARx.org.
