It seems that no organization, business, person – or even disease – is immune to the current recession. And Alzheimer’s disease certainly is no exception. In fact, the recession’s blow to Alzheimer’s has been especially hard.

A great deal of scientific research has been halted because of limited funds, while the prevalence and costs of Alzheimer’s are soaring at astounding proportions.

A Growing Burden, Financially & Emotionally        A recent report by the Alzheimer’s Study Group notes that Alzheimer’s “could very well surpass even the current economic crisis in the damage it inflicts on individuals and our economy.” It further warns that “our national effort to address Alzheimer’s disease has lacked coordination and focus and has been woefully underfunded relative to the scale of the mounting crisis.” New cases of this disease are expected to increase by more than 50% in the next two decades.

The National Institutes of Health, which is the primary funding source for biomedical research, has recently undergone huge budgetary cuts. Roughly 80% of grant proposals get no funding at all. In turn, research scientists with the potential to make innovative treatment discoveries are not given that opportunity – which ultimately affects patient health.

The rising cost of health care is compounding this situation for patients. Some of them no longer can afford medical insurance, resulting in further deterioration of their health. This leads to more and more care being provided in the patient’s home, by family members who often have full-time jobs, kids, their own financial hardships, and little available time and energy for caregiving. Families are being taxed both emotionally and financially. This also translates into greater costs for employers; these workers often must take days off to care for their loved ones. And when they are able to work, the caregiving burden takes a toll on their productivity. In 2008 alone, family members of Alzheimer’s patients supplied approximately 8.5 billion hours of care.

Alzheimer’s disease consumes a large portion of the nation’s health-care resources. The costs of this disease to Medicare and Medicaid are projected to exceed $1 trillion per year by 2050. Alzheimer’s is causing medical expenses to triple for people aged 65 and older. And because of the aging baby-boomer generation, more and more people will fall into this age group.

Addressing the Problem        Unfortunately, no FDA-approved treatment for Alzheimer’s has proven to reverse this deadly disease. But many therapies have shown promise in slowing – or even halting – its progression. Therefore, the key to improving patient health, and the associated financial crisis, is early detection. Some strides have been made in this area, with experimental tests emerging that aid in early diagnosis; these include brain scans and blood tests. But it is crucial that funding be available – and increased – for such efforts. If not, the snowball effect will remain and worsen.

According to Nancy Andrews, Dean of Duke University Medical School, “People who have diseases that 5 or 10 years from now should be curable are going to have to wait a lot longer. The knowledge is there, and we have the people who know exactly what to do to study the things that turn into cures. But they don’t have the funding to do it.”

This situation is very frustrating, especially for patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Without early detection and treatment, the deterioration is rapid, rendering the person incapable of self-care, and in turn placing greater burdens on caregivers, employers, the economy, and society as a whole.

Using a Monte Carlo cost-benefit risk analysis, a recent study at La Follette School of Public Affairs (Madison, WI) showed that early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease can potentially yield substantial social benefits, plus considerable savings for states and the federal government. The findings also suggest that failure to fund appropriate programs and interventions may be fiscally unsound.

Focusing on early diagnosis and prompt effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease – even measures that just prevent or delay further deterioration – could have profound implications. Making these goals a priority could significantly improve quality of life for patients and caregivers, and substantially reduce all costs associated with the disease. Recession or not, if we don’t invest in these goals now, our economy will bear an even greater burden later.

If you would like to help fund research efforts for Alzheimer’s disease, please visit http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_join_the_cause.asp.

If you or a loved one would like to participate in a clinical trial, visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=alzheimer%27s+disease.

You may view more articles by this author at http://www.examiner.com/x-7675-Philadelphia-Alzheimers-Disease-Examiner.

Sources: Alzheimer’s Association, 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures; www.alz.org/northcarolina; www.alternet.org/healthwellness; www.mcclatchydc.com/328; Weimer and Sager, Early identification and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: social and fiscal outcomes, Alzheimers Dement 2009, Apr 10 [epub ahead of print].