Monday, January 23, 2012

Obama Sets Date for Finding Alzheimer's Treatment

The Obama administration has set a date for finding an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease. It is 2025—just 13 years away—not a prolonged period when it comes to solving a medical mystery that affects millions.

The date was created in response to the National Alzheimer's Project Act, which was signed into law a year ago by President Obama. The act was fueld in part by the increasing numbers of Americans who are getting Alzheimer's as the population ages and by the projected costs of treating them—upwards of a $1 trillion by 2050, according to some estimates.

Whether an effective treatment is found by 2025, of course, will depend on the advances that scientists are able to make in this area. And one experimental Alzheimer's drug that looks promising is called gantenerumab. It reduces plaques in the brains of patients and is being explored by the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-Laroche.  More information about this drug can be found in the December 2, 2011 Psychiatric News

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