Funding for dementia research getting tight

The American Health Assistance Foundation (AHAF) is a nonprofit organization funding innovative research through its Alzheimer’s Disease Research (ADR) program. They announced that the number of scientists seeking ADR research grants has increased by 33% - a sign that funding from other sources is drying up and getting more competitive. “It’s a sign of difficult times for the scientific community,” said AHAF Vice President of Scientific Affairs Guy Eakin, PhD. “Finding government funding is tough now, and more researchers are looking to private funding sources like AHAF than ever before. But we can’t meet all the need.”

This year’s requests have totaled $83.9 million – significantly more than the $74 million the group has awarded cumulatively in the last 25 years.

And the urgency is very real. Federal funding is in question as deficit solutions are volleyed about. All the while, the US and other countries have an ageing population with increasing dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. There is a huge demographic hitting the most vulnerable years in the next three decades. Over five million people in the US have Alzheimer’s. That number will triple in the next 40 years. “These figures could bankrupt our healthcare system,” explain Eakin. “Boomers are reaching the age of 65 at the rate of one every eight seconds. At that age, one’s risk of having Alzheimer’s doubles every five years.”

On a good day, Alzheimer’s is underfunded. “Of the top 10 deadliest diseases in the US, only Alzheimer’s disease has no treatment to slow or stop the disease beyond symptomatic treatments. There is currently no prevention, no remission, and no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. That’s all the more reason why more research is desperately needed,” underscored Eakin.

Fundraising efforts from private sources will need to increase as well a pressure on government leaders to provide more funding.

Source: MedicalNewsTodayAHAF