We are making progress in Alzheimer’s research; we need Congress to continue momentum | Opinion

While out on the campaign trail in 2015, Senator Rand Paul called Alzheimer’s a “growing problem.” That has certainly proven true. Back then, an estimated 68,000 people in Kentucky had the disease. Now there are already more than 75,000 Kentuckians living with Alzheimer’s and, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, when the 10-year anniversary of those comments comes around in 2025, it’s estimated to be 86,000 Kentuckians. That’s a 26% increase in the number of people in Kentucky living with Alzheimer’s diseases in just the span of a decade.

While prevalence has increased, so, too, have the discoveries to treat, slow and prevent Alzheimer’s. Researchers and scientists have made significant advances in Alzheimer’s and dementia, including the first ever Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatments that address the underlying biology of Alzheimer’s, and progress on simple, inexpensive diagnostic tools, like a finger prick blood test, to detect the disease.

This momentum in the dementia research space, and my own personal experience with Alzheimer’s, is what led me to pursue Alzheimer’s research at the nationally-renowned Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. The work my colleagues and I are doing allows us to bring scientific discoveries “from benchtop to bedside.” In other words, we’re making advances in Alzheimer’s patient care by sharing our research with medical doctors who can then tailor care to those living with the disease.

The research that I and hundreds of others across the country are doing would not be possible without significant investments. And the advancements to change the trajectory of Alzheimer’s we are experiencing would not have been possible without the 2011 passage of the National Alzheimer’s Project (NAPA) Act (P.L. 111-375).

Prior to the bipartisan NAPA Act, there was no comprehensive plan to address this disease. In 2010, for every dollar the federal government spent on the cost of Alzheimer’s care, it invested less than a penny on dementia research. Since the NAPA Act became law, the U.S. has initiated development of crucial public health infrastructure, improved access to quality care and secured vital, unprecedented federal research funding increases. And today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invests more than $3.7 billion annually on Alzheimer’s and dementia research, with inspiring results.

The passage of a second bipartisan piece of legislation in 2014, the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act (AAA), requires the NIH to submit an annual Professional Judgment Budget to Congress to ensure Alzheimer’s and dementia research is funded at the levels needed to achieve the goals in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. With robust and steady investment, scientists like me have been able to work faster to advance basic disease knowledge, explore ways to reduce risk, uncover new biomarkers for early diagnosis and drug targeting, and develop potential treatments.

NAPA and AAA are set to expire soon and must be reauthorized by Congress to ensure we continue the momentum toward our vision of a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia.

I would like the opportunity to continue my work in Alzheimer’s and dementia research, so reauthorizing these bills is personal to me. But that’s not the only reason why it’s personal. Like so many other people across Kentucky — including the 157,000 unpaid family and friends serving as caregivers across the state — I have personally been impacted by this devastating disease. The first death I ever experienced was watching my great grandmother take her last breath, like so many millions more who pass away with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is nothing short of a public health crisis, and it requires a response as aggressive as its presence. If we want to truly stop Alzheimer’s from continuing to be a “growing problem,” I hope Senator Paul and his colleagues in Congress will take action today to support the reauthorization of NAPA and AAA. Kentucky is counting on you.

MaKayla Cox is a researcher in Alzheimer’s, an MD/PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky, and an Alzheimer’s Association advocate.