[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 149 (Monday, November 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S11309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS WEEK
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, 20 years ago, President Reagan signed a
proclamation designating the first National Alzheimer's Awareness Week.
Today, as part of this year's National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness
Month, I would like to commend and thank all those who have worked to
battle this terrible disease.
As the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees
funding for the National Institutes of Health, and someone who has
watched many close friends succumb to Alzheimer's over the years, I
have learned perhaps more than I wish I knew about this disease. In
1982, 2 million people suffered from Alzheimer's; today, the number is
4 million. By the year 2050, that number will rise to 14 million, and
we will be paying $357 billion a year in health care costs, unless
science can find a way to prevent or delay this disease.
Fortunately, that goal is in sight. Researchers are finally closing
in on what causes Alzheimer's; they are using cutting-edge brain
imaging to figure out how to diagnose it; and they are studying
everything from folic acid and statins to Advil and gingko biloba to
see if any of these drugs and supplements can help delay it.
Much of that research would not have been possible without the
substantial increase in Federal funding that Senator Specter and I,
working together on the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education Appropriations Subcommittee, have secured for NIH. In fiscal
year 1998, when we began our bipartisan effort to double the NIH's
budget, NIH spent $356 million on Alzheimer's disease. When Congress
completes the doubling effort this year, that number will rise to
almost $650 million.
But it is still not enough. We need to raise that total to $1 billion
as soon as possible, if we're really going to be serious about reducing
the physical and economic costs of Alzheimer's. According to experts,
delaying the onset and progression of Alzheimer's for even 5 years
could save as much as $50 billion in annual health care costs.
President Reagan's son-in-law, Dennis C. Revell, makes an excellent
case for investing more money in Alzheimer's research in an op-ed in
today's Washington Times.
In the meantime, we are fortunate that so many people across this
country are working to support Alzheimer's research and care. I have
worked for many years with the national Alzheimer's Association, as
well as with their local chapters in Iowa, and I can tell you firsthand
that they will not rest until scientists find a cure. As the Nation
recognizes Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month throughout November, I
thank them for their dedication.
I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Alzheimer's Disease
(By Dennis C. Revell)
``That's the worst part of this disease. There's nobody to
exchange memories with.'' (Nancy Reagan, Sept. 25, ``60
Minutes II.'')
Alzheimer's disease doesn't make special arrangements for
anyone, even for the leader of the free world. In tragic
irony, 20 years ago this week President Reagan launched a
national campaign against Alzheimer's disease. In a historic
White House ceremony, he drew national attention to
Alzheimer's and defined it as a major health menace. He
proclaimed November National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness
Month, warning the American people of ``the emotional,
financial and social consequences of Alzheimer's disease.''
With vision and leadership, he argued for research as ``the
only hope for victims and families.''
The brain is a miracle when it works, and a mystery when it
fails. One of the most haunting, puzzling, and soon to be
most costly of the brain's failures is Alzheimer's--a
degenerative, progressive, and terminal brain disorder.
Most people think of Alzheimer's strictly as memory loss.
It is much more, although memory loss alone would be scary
enough. Memories are the records of our lives--the essential
stuff of our identities and personalities--the very essence
of what we share with those we love.
On Nov. 5, 1994, Ronald Reagan wrote a courageous letter to
the American people about his own diagnosis of Alzheimer's,
and his 1982 presidential campaign against the disease became
his family's personal struggle.
We have made giant strides toward fulfilling his vision,
and now this Congress and President Bush have the opportunity
to finish the battle he began. Congress has steadily invested
public funds in Alzheimer's research over the past 20 years
and the Alzheimer's Association has added millions in private
funds.
That investment in research is now paying off. Science is
at the point where effective treatment and prevention of
Alzheimer's is within reach. The research infrastructure
is in place; the paths for further investigation are
clear. The missing ingredient is money. A $1 billion
federal investment now will pay big dividends in the
future.
When Ronald Reagan sounded his battle cry against
Alzheimer's, an estimated 2 million people were suffering
from this awful disease. Today, the number has grown to more
than 4 million, with an additional 19 million family members
suffering the emotional and financial impact--24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Unfortunately, over the next 50 years, as many as 14
million baby boomers will be the next large pool of victims,
unless we find ways to further slow down or stop the changes
in their brains that might already be taking place.
The threat to so many American families should be enough to
urge us to action, but the economic impact of the disease
drives us as well. In just 10 years, the annual cost of
Alzheimer's disease to Medicare and Medicaid will rise from
$50 billion to more than $82 billion. Since 1998, estimates
of the annual cost of Alzheimer's disease to American
business have risen from $33 billion to more than $61
billion.
During this Alzheimer's Awareness Month, we reflect upon
the extraordinary progress we have made as a nation these
past 20 years:
Twenty years ago, there were no treatments for Alzheimer's
disease; today, four Alzheimer drugs have been approved, and
researchers are working to bring even more promising
treatments, including a potential vaccine, to market.
Twenty years ago, we had little information on risk factors
to point the way to prevention; today, there is growing
evidence that known risk factors for heart disease, including
high blood pressure and high cholesterol, may also increase
the risk for Alzheimer's.
Twenty years ago, only a handful of scientists were
studying Alzheimer's; now, thousands of scientists around the
world are racing to find the answers.
Twenty years ago, Alzheimer scientists were working in
isolation; today, 33 Alzheimer's disease centers are funded
by the National Institute on Aging, where scientists
collaborate to speed the search.
We are so close. Thanks to the dynamics Ronald Reagan set
in motion two decades ago, science has changed the view of
Alzheimer's disease from one of helplessness to one of hope.
But this is no time to sit back and rest on a sense of
accomplishment.
The answer is still research, research, and more research.
Individuals and families living with the disease research.
Individuals and families living with the disease have joined
the Alzheimer's Association in challenging Mr. Bush and
Congress to increase the federal commitment to Alzheimer
research.
We call on Congress to increase funding for the National
Institutes of Health to $1 billion a year to continue the
momentum in Alzheimer research. We call upon Mr. Bush to make
this important cause his own by including in his budget for
next year the necessary funds to accelerate the pace of
research.
We are in a race against time. Without sufficient research
resources now, we will lose that race.
We can change the course of Alzheimer's disease, for the 4
million people suffering today, for the 19 million family
members who are caring for them, and for up to 14 million
Americans who today face the fate that befell a man who means
so much to us and to the world.
Testifying before the Senate about Alzheimer's disease
shortly before her own death, Maureen Reagan took up her
father's mission, calling upon Congress to ``make this the
last generation that would live without hope.''
Both Ronald Reagan and Maureen always looked to a brighter
horizon. Congress and Mr. Bush can ensure that we reach that
horizon before the sun sets on another generation with
Alzheimer's disease.
____________________