Dallas Elder Law Attorney Applauds Record Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant
Oct 18, 2012
Waxahachie, TX (Law Firm Newswire) October 17, 2012 – The Alzheimer’s Association has awarded its largest-ever research grant.
Almost $4.2 million is going to the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network in St. Louis, Missouri, to study if early intervention can slow or stop the progress of the disease. The grant will be paid out over four years.
Congress passed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act to comprehensively study, treat and battle the disease, one that is expected to affect an aging U.S. population. As the population of U.S. adults doubles over the next twenty years, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is expected to increase.
“More than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dallas elder law attorney John Hale. “There are also approximately 15 million caregivers, costing an estimated $2 trillion to taxpayers over the next decade. This push to increase research could not have waited any longer.”
As part of an effort to push for earlier diagnosis and treatment, Congress passed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act in 2011, which has since spawned the National Alzheimer’s Plan. The goal of the Plan is to halt Alzheimer’s, and other dementias, by the year 2025; resources will be allocated at first to tracking the disease to a national database.
Two clinical trials are in the works, one which tests an insulin nasal spray and the other is a comprehensive prevention trial for those genetically predisposed to developing Alzheimer’s. Other plans include educating the public about the disease and training for both formal and informal caregivers. The National Alzheimer’s Plan is overseen by the federal government’s Health and Human Services Department.
A recent discovery has been made by Icelandic researchers of a rare gene mutation that may protect individuals from developing Alzheimer’s. They found that, out of almost 1,800 subjects, 1 percent carried a genetic variation that slowed a protein build up in the brain. People with this variation were also found to be 81 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s after the age of 85. Next steps include studying the possible links between this protein and how it is suspected of causing or contributing to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, and then developing a treatment to stop that protein from growing.
John Hale is a Dallas elder law attorney and Dallas estate planning lawyer with The Hale Law Firm. To learn more visit http://www.thehalelawfirm.com.
The Hale Law Firm
417 W. Main Street
Waxahachie, TX 75165
Call: 888.425.3911
