National Institutes of Health takes 7.6 percent budget cut, jeopardizing Alzheimer’s research funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington’s failure to reach a deficit reduction deal before the March 1 sequester deadline has triggered once unthinkable budget cuts that will take the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the chopping block, and jeopardize life-saving medical research funding for costly and deadly diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Currently, 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, the only leading cause of death without a modifying treatment or cure. If left unchecked, Alzheimer’s is projected to cost the U.S. $2 trillion over the next decade and triple in size by 2050.

George Vradenburg, Chairman of USAgainstAlzheimer’s released the following statement urging Congress and the Administration to reverse funding cuts through sequestration and to strengthen the investment in biomedical research as they work to finalize the FY 2013 spending plan.

“While leaders in Washington assign blame over their latest failure to get our nation’s fiscal house in order, researchers across the country are preparing for shortsighted NIH budget cuts that will decimate life-saving medical research into deadly diseases like Alzheimer’s.

“Alzheimer’s is shaping up to be the health and fiscal crisis of the 21st century and stands to sink the U.S. economy in the coming years without an investment equal to the size of the problem.

“From polio to cancer and from heart disease to HIV/AIDS, we have seen that a commitment to targeted research into high-cost diseases is a proven deficit reduction strategy.

“If Washington is serious about tackling our deficit, Congress must increase investment in Alzheimer’s medical research, not deliver a crushing blow from which the nation may never recover.”

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USAgainstAlzheimer’s
USAgainstAlzheimer’s is a national advocacy campaign and advocacy network committed to stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020. For more information about USAgainstAlzheimer’s, visit http://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/.