[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 38 (Monday, March 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3403-S3404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH, PREVENTION AND CARE ACT

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join my colleagues 
Senators Mikulski, Bond, Breaux, Dodd, Lincoln, Landrieu and Cochran in 
introducing this important bipartisan legislation. The Alzheimer's 
Research, Prevention and Care Act will expand federal efforts to find 
new ways of treating and preventing Alzheimer's Disease and to provide 
better care for the 4 million Americans suffering from this devastating 
illness.
  Alzheimer's disease is the most serious threat to the health and 
well-being of America's seniors. It has a devastating impact on 
individuals, families, the health care system, and society as a whole. 
Today, four million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and that number 
is expected to grow to 14 million as baby boomers age. Currently, one 
in 10 people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's disease, and nearly 
half of those over 85 suffer from it. This figure is particularly 
alarming, since the over-85 age group is the fastest growing segment of 
our population.
  The annual cost of formal care for Alzheimer's disease is immense--
$100 billion, and the value of the care provided by family caregivers 
is an additional $196 billion. As the baby boomer generation continues 
to age, the costs will rise to at least $375 billion a year, which 
presents a serious challenge to Medicare, Medicaid and our entire 
health care system.
  We can avoid this crisis. Researchers have been working hard to find 
a cure. Scientists have come close to discovering the scientific causes 
of Alzheimer's disease. Newly released studies have begun to reveal 
information

[[Page S3404]]

on what aging Americans can do to reduce the risk of developing this 
devastating disease. One study found that those who consumed the most 
saturated fat had double the risk of those who consumed the lowest 
amount. Another study has found that blood pressure played an important 
role in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in those 75 or 
older. These and other research studies are helping to create a better 
understanding of why brain cells shrink and die.
  Hopefully, we are on the verge of a breakthrough, and scientists 
deserve greater support in order to make the goal of cure a reality. 
That is why we must do more to accelerate the research critical to 
finding a cure. The Act we propose will advance our country toward the 
goal of doubling the future investment in Alzheimer's disease research 
at NIH. It authorizes $1.5 billion for the National Institute on Aging 
by the year 2008, which is the lead NIH institute for this research.
  The research funding authorized by the Act will add new speed in the 
race to prevent this illness that touches the lives of so many 
Americans. These funds will support the Alzheimer's Disease Prevention 
Initiative authorized by the act. Prevention is our best opportunity to 
halt the growth of Alzheimer's disease. Observational studies in large 
populations suggest that drugs already in wide use in middle-aged and 
older people may have a protective effect against the disease. Those 
results must now be validated in large-scale, controlled clinical 
trials. Among prevention initiatives, the Act authorizes trials to 
determine whether compounds such as estrogen, vitamin E, ginko biloba 
and aspirin can prevent the onset of the disease.
  The act also authorizes cooperative clinical research at the National 
Institute on Aging. Clinical trials can cost millions of dollars and 
involve thousands of participants and years of work. This legislation 
will enhance these needed trials, develop new ways to design these 
trials, and make it easier for patients to enroll in key studies. 
Cooperative research is essential to launching these clinical trials 
and supporting productive research.
  The act also supports research and programs to help millions of 
family caregivers who provide loved ones with care at home. Seventy 
percent of those with the disease live at home in which families 
provide at least 77 percent of their care. It is vitally important to 
find better ways to help families who are the backbone of our long-term 
care system. The support they provide is extraordinary, and often 
jeopardizes their own health. It is unacceptable that one in eight 
Alzheimer's caregivers becomes ill or injured as a direct result of 
caregiving. Family caregivers provide the support which prevents these 
patients from having to enter institutions. This issue is especially 
important, given the nationwide health workforce shortage in nursing 
homes.
  The act also reauthorizes the Alzheimer's Demonstration Program in 
the Administration on Aging and increases funding to expand it. This 
program has been highly successful in pioneering new ways to fill gaps 
in existing state delivery systems, so that local and community-based 
programs can do more for underserved populations with Alzheimer's 
disease. In Massachusetts, the Multicultural Alzheimer's Services 
Project in Springfield will receive funding through this program to 
provide information and supportive services to those with Alzheimer's 
and their caregivers.
  We have no time to waste in the battle against Alzheimer's disease. 
We must act now to accelerate scientific efforts to find a cure and 
halt the continuing epidemic of the disease. We can improve the lives 
of millions of Americans by demonstrating our commitment to enhance 
research, and to support programs that help patients and their 
families. I urge my colleagues to support this very important 
legislation.

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