Feds Throw Weight Behind Alzheimer’s Research

It's a good time to be on the front lines in the battle against Alzheimer's Disease. 

Alzheimer's Association members are heartened that the recent passage of the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) will bring the country's resources into the battle against the deadly disease.

Dr. Joel Ross, of the New Jersey-based Memory Enhancement Centers of America , says this year, pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, they're hoping to launch the Alzheimer's Prevention Trials in individuals ages 45 to 65 who are genetically predisposed to the disease. "and then we offer a treatment, if the FDA approves us to launch this study, to hopefully stop people from having brain-shrinkage even before they have symptoms of having Alzheimer's."

Alzheimer's Association members say that NAPA will help coordinate a National plan to address the disease in hopes of preventing, treating or even curing the disease by 20-25. However, curing the disease may be too optimistic a goal at this point, according to Dr. Ross who says "I think a cure is not likely in the next ten years however, prevention I think is highly likely. So we may be able to delay the onset of the disease."

Dr. Ross says the most important advance that has been made in the last 100 years in battling Alzheimer's has been the recent development of diagnostic tools, special scanning machines that we can detect evidence of Alzheimer's pathology prior to memory loss symptoms. He says they're able to detect Alzheimer's five to ten years or more before the first sign of forgetfulness is noted.

He says now they're hoping Congress will put some teeth to NAPA and release billions of dollars in funding. He says He believes one of the main duties of the NAPA Advisory Panel will be in setting up Memory Centers through out the Country so that every American will have access. He describes these centers as one-stop-shopping-Centers for Alzheimer's. "Not just to diagnose the problem but to treat it both with FDA approved drugs, with social work support, with long-term care planning, with ethical interventions made."

Dr. Ross is asking folks to sign a petition electronically by going to National Alzheimer's Project Act web page asking Congress to release sizeable funding for the project and for better care for the Alzheimer's patients.