Where there is a will, there is a way. Conscientious research efforts and tenacious leadership have, in the past, enabled advancements in medical treatment for some of the world's most lethal diseases. Yet as Republicans and Democrats grapple for influence in an increasingly polarized political climate, the United States continues to neglect one of the most taxing medical problems to date: Alzheimer's disease - a completely lethal and neurodegenerative condition. In fact, during the next two decades beginning in January, one baby boomer will turn 65 every eight seconds, so as the United States population ages, Alzheimer's will become an increasingly destructive and expensive healthcare problem. With relatively ineffective treatments, perhaps the only solution for the widespread prevalence of Alzheimer's is a cure. The United States must show tenacious leadership in medical research like it did in the 20th century to combat other deadly diseases like smallpox and polio. The disease cannot continue to be ignored; Obama's national healthcare overhaul must directly counter the financial impact of Alzheimer's on the U.S. healthcare system by increasing funding for research.
It is no secret that the U.S. population is aging rapidly. As the 79 million members of the baby boomer generation - the largest in U.S. history - become older, their risk for getting Alzheimer's doubles every five years after age 65. But the disease does not discriminate; it affects men and women from all wealth brackets, races and ethnicities. And although Alzheimer's affects the entire population, it hits women the hardest. In fact, two-thirds of those with Alzheimer's and 60 percent of unpaid caregivers are women. As a result, Alzheimer's is emerging as both a national healthcare problem and as a women's issue.
The Alzheimer's Association estimates that 13.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's by 2050. As more Americans are diagnosed with Alzheimer's in coming decades, millions of Americans will be left with prodigiously expensive treatment costs necessary to care for sick loved ones no longer capable of caring for themselves.
History shows, however, that Alzheimer's could be a disease of the past with sufficient funding and proper attention. The World Health Organization initiated a global campaign in 1967 to eliminate smallpox - a lethal disease that mercilessly wiped out continental populations for several centuries. After zealous international efforts, smallpox became the first infectious disease to be globally eradicated by human endeavors in 1979. Similarly, Dr. Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine in 1952 with the help of research initiatives championed by both President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who suffered from the disease, and the March of Dimes. Today, polio has been isolated to several countries and officially eradicated from the Americas thanks to the 1988 Global Polio Eradication Initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, UNICEF and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vigorous AIDS research in the 1980s proved equally rewarding and led to the discovery of antiretroviral medicines for AIDS treatment and management.
Medical research is another way to solve the nation's rising healthcare costs. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the United States spends $172 billion a year on Alzheimer's care and will have spent $20 trillion by 2050. Despite these astronomical healthcare costs, the National Institute of Health expends only $469 million a year on Alzheimer's medical research. Americans spend $3.50 on Alzheimer's care for each penny spent on research. So compared to the nearly $3 billion a year spent on AIDS research, the $469 million spent on Alzheimer's research is simply not sufficient to develop an effective cure or preventative treatment for the disease. In contrast, the United States devoted continuous financial investment to AIDS research
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