[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 89 (Tuesday, July 11, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: A LOOMING EPIDEMIC

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 11, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a crucial 
challenge that our generation will face. In the June 27, 2006 edition 
of the Washington Post, an opinion editorial titled, ``Open the Door to 
Curing Alzheimer's'' by Robert Essner describes the urgency that exists 
in declaring research on Alzheimer's disease as a top priority for the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the meantime, Alzheimer's has 
been accepted as an inevitable phase of aging. However, this needn't be 
the case because with enough research, more successful treatment can be 
discovered, and this research can easily deliver a cure.
  However, it is not only the mere personal and emotional burden caused 
by this degenerative disease that should be of concern to all of us as 
legislators. This disease will also cause a serious economic drain on 
our funds. With the baby-boomer generation quickly approaching as a 
risk group for Alzheimer's, it is estimated that this disease will 
claim 1 in every 10 people of this sizeable population; that is, about 
14 million baby-boomer elders will have Alzheimer's. Essner estimates 
that with such an immense population of Alzheimer's patients, the costs 
of care for this disease will ``drain--if not bankrupt'' the federal 
and state health care budgets.
  Given these approximations, a vast majority of us are at risk for 
either becoming Alzheimer's patients, caring for one in our immediate 
family, or at least know a patient in our extended family. The article 
emphasizes how costly Alzheimer's truly is. Today, a whopping one third 
of all of Medicare funds are directed towards care for Alzheimer's 
patients. Last year alone, $91 billion in Medicare dollars was spent on 
those suffering from this disease. Furthermore, Alzheimer's incurs 
$19,000 a year in ``out-of-pocket'' costs for the families of patients.
  Therefore, it is crucial that entities from the science, regulatory, 
and industry fields join forces to work as quickly as possible to 
thwart this disease and the imminent epidemic that Alzheimer's is bound 
to cause. If not enough financial support is provided for research and 
a cure for this possibly avoidable illness, we will continue to risk 
delaying the discovery of an effective treatment for Alzheimer's and 
this will potentially adversely impact on millions and millions of 
people. Essner says it best when he asserts, ``we could make my 
generation the last to dread Alzheimer's,'' and I believe this is a 
matter of obligation, not option.

 Open the Door to Curing Alzheimer's--Why This Research Must Become an 
                            Urgent Priority

                           (By Robert Essner)

       June 27, 2006.--America is getting serious about preparing 
     for the possibility of an outbreak of avian flu. Would that 
     it could muster the same sense of urgency for a disease that 
     is already here and is certain to become epidemic. The 
     disease is Alzheimer's. It will claim one in 10 baby boomers, 
     create a personal and fiscal nightmare for their families, 
     and drain--if not bankrupt--state and federal health-care 
     budgets. Medicare now pays one-third of all its health-care 
     funds for some 4.5 million Alzheimer's patients. Are we ready 
     for three times that number?
       Alzheimer's doesn't have to be an inevitable part of aging. 
     It is a disease for which research can find a cure, or at 
     least a more effective treatment. In that way, it could be 
     like HIV-AIDS--a disease that, for most sufferers, went from 
     a lethal diagnosis to a treatable chronic condition within 
     six years of its discovery. One breakthrough AIDS drug 
     rapidly led to another, because we mobilized pandemic-
     strength muscle against it. In addition, the Food and Drug 
     Administration created review and approval processes that 
     helped new therapies for AIDS reach people who needed them 
     years ahead of what would have otherwise been possible.
       The FDA now needs to give the same priority status to drugs 
     for Alzheimer's as it has for AIDS and cancer treatments. 
     And, the federal government needs to designate Alzheimer's as 
     a No. 1 research priority.
       If we don't do these things, the projections are 
     staggering. Within the next five years, nearly a half-million 
     new Alzheimer's cases will be diagnosed annually, as 78 
     million baby boomers reach age 65. Given those numbers, most 
     of us will either become an Alzheimer's patient, care for one 
     in our home or know a patient in our extended family. By 
     robbing victims of memory, Alzheimer's strips away 
     individuality, dignity and independence.
       Alzheimer's is expensive. It requires $19,000 a year in 
     out-of-pocket costs for each caregiver family. Last year 
     Medicare spent $91 billion for Alzheimer's. That figure will 
     nearly double in just four years--and keep soaring as 14 
     million cases are diagnosed in boomers' lifetimes.
       Within the pharmaceutical industry, there are 28 
     Alzheimer's compounds in development. But progress on all 
     fronts is unconscionably slow considering the looming shadow 
     of this epidemic. And, given the complexity of the disease, 
     no single research organization has the resources to research 
     all its facets as quickly as we must.
       At Wyeth alone, we've committed hundreds of millions of 
     dollars to this research. We are moving in a promising 
     direction by testing eight innovative approaches. Right now 
     no one can say that any one of them will work. But we believe 
     that, through taking multiple ``shots on goal'' in our 
     research labs, a treatment can be found.
       In October 2001 Wyeth started its Alzheimer's research 
     program with a vaccine approach designed to stimulate the 
     body to stop the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in the 
     brain--thought to be a critical part of the disease process. 
     While that initial effort proved unsuccessful, it did not 
     deter us from moving ahead with another vaccine approach. 
     This new vaccine program is in the clinic. Furthest along in 
     development at Wyeth is a pill--a potent serotonin receptor 
     antagonist that may enhance cognition in moderate cases and 
     significantly enhance the quality of life. Another promising 
     approach is an antibody directed against beta-amyloid. By 
     removing these plaques, we hope to stop the disease from 
     progressing.
       But it is imperative for industry, scientists and 
     regulators to work together to help us reach our goal even 
     faster. We need a sense of urgency, a commitment to 
     collaboration that will lead to a concerted, focused effort 
     to prevent this impending epidemic.
       A TV journalist who cares for a husband diagnosed with the 
     disease wrote in a recent issue of the scientific journal 
     Alzheimer's & Dementia: ``Right now the majority of 
     Alzheimer's victims and their caregivers are our parents. 
     Their plight is our future. . . . We are desperately in need 
     of access to new therapies instead of being left with only 
     agonizing decisions.''
       For every month we hesitate, we will find ourselves 
     spending down the nation's health-care budget to care for the 
     demise of millions of people. We should be preparing to cure 
     them. We could make my generation the last to dread 
     Alzheimer's. It is time to accelerate the pace of our efforts 
     and take the battle to a level on par with our hope.

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