CHICAGO, (Reuters) – The U.S. government launched a national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease yesterday with funding for a first prevention study in high-risk patients and tests on an insulin nasal spray that has shown promise in earlier studies.
The trials, funded by grants of $16 million and $7.9 million respectively, are initial steps in the National Alzheimer’s Plan, a sweeping effort to find an effective way to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s by 2025 and improve the care of those already afflicted with the brain-wasting disease.
“This is our roadmap that will help us meet our goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025,” Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told scientists at an Alzheimer’s summit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
“The goal of the new law is to give us the kind of clear, national focus and attention on Alzheimer’s that we’ve given to other diseases,” Sebelius told the meeting, which was relayed by webcast, referring to the National Alzheimer’s Project Act signed by President Barack Obama last year.
Experts predict that without more effective drugs, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s will double by 2050 and annual related healthcare costs could soar to more than $1 trillion.
The fatal form of dementia affects about 5.1 million Americans today and current treatments address symptoms, but cannot prevent the disease or stop its progression.
Sebelius said progress had so far proven elusive.
“We’ve yet to harness the right formula for drug development and clinical-trial results continue to be disappointing,” she said. “We’ve yet to find effective treatments or proven ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and that’s the ultimate goal.”
Among the immediate actions will be funding for a study involving an antibody drug that attacks amyloid — a protein thought to be a cause of Alzheimer’s — in an international study of people who are genetically predisposed to develop the disease early.
