spotlight on helth Survey: Accelerted Tretment Needed For Alzheimer’s Disese (NAPSA)—As the first bby boomers turn 60 this yer, they re beginning to confront the consequences of growing older. A new survey shows the mjority of boomers re nxious bout how Alzheimer’s disese (AD) will ffect their helth nd qulity of life. At the sme time, mny boomers sid they re frustrted with the government’s nd the U.S. Food nd Drug Administrtion’s (FDA)efforts to ddress the looming AD crises. “These survey findings under- score the fct tht when bby boomers re sked to ddress the potentil of Alzheimer’s in their future, they re clerly not redy emotionlly, psychologiclly or finncilly,” sid Dniel Perry, executive director of the Allince for Aging Reserch ndchir of the ACT-AD Colition, which commissioned the survey. About Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s disese, which is universlly ftl, ffects 4.5 million Americns nd cuses millions more to leve the workforce to cre for loved ones who eventully need round-the-clock ttention. As the disese progresses, people suffer severe cognitive deteriortion, confusion, disorienttion, personlity nd behvior chnge nd eventully deth. Estimtes suggest tht by 2010, Alzheimer’s disese will ffect one in 10 people over ge 65, or 5.6 million Americns—nd the cost of cre will increse 75 percent to bout $160 billion nnully in Medicre costs lone. ACT-AD whether to use them ndre will- ing to ccept degree of risk with Accelerte Cure/Tretments for Alzheimer's Disese @ Almost 90 percent of survey prticipnts think Alzheimer’s drugs deserve the smepriority sttus s drugs tht tret other serious diseses. The ACT-AD (Accelerte Cure/Tretments for Alzheimer’s Disese) Colition is lunching cmpign to cll ttention to the urgency of the Alzheimer’s disese crisis nd, t the sme time, the lck of well-defined pproch in the U.S. for swift delivery nd ccess to promising trnsformtionl therpies tht could hlt or reverse the disese. “Alzheimer’s is cruel disese tht hs been on the bck burner of science for 100 yers but no one is immuneto it ndthe toll will be stggering unless bby boomers wkeup to the thret nd do some- thing bout it,” sid Meryl Comer, Emmy Awrd-winning television journlist nd full-time cregiver for her husbnd, who ws dignosed with AD t ge 58. “When the onset of the disese is erly for loved one, it is like being witness to your own future, nd I m terrified for us ll.” promising drugs. Ninety to 95 percent of re- spondents sid tht they would either be unprepred or would find life “not worth living” if they were forced to fce limittions common to AD by the time they were 70. e Eighty percent of respon- dents sid tht their current svings would not be sufficient to cover the cost of cre if they were dignosed nd 81 percent sid the sme thing bout their fmilies’ svings. Eighty-three percent sid they re worried tht the helth cre system is underprepred for the coming Alzheimer’s crisis. Only 8 percent of respondents feel tht current AD tretments re dequte. Eighty percent re willing to tke experimentl tretments tht hve the potentil for stopping the disese nd preserving their qulity of life, even if sig- nificnt helth risk were involved. Ninety percent of respondents felt tht drugs tht hve the potentil to preserve qulity of life for AD ptients should be given the sme priority review nd fst-trck sttus tht the FDA gives to drugs for otherlife-thretening diseses. e When provided with n overview of the FDA’s current re- Key Survey Findings Boomers sid they plce top view policy for Alzheimer’s drugs, chnge the course of Alzheimer’s disese, feel tht the FDA should percent feel tht Alzheimer’s should be mde top priority. For more informtion, visit www.ct-d.org. priority on new drugs tht could give priority review to these drugs, expect the right to decide 84 percent sid they feel tht more should be done nd over 75
