Washington, DC – The much-anticipated film Still Alice opens nationwide today and will help shine a spotlight on the devastating social and economic impact of Alzheimer’s disease, but films like Still Alice can also spark the demand for more research into a cure, according to George Vradenburg, Co-founder and Chairman of USAgainstAlzheimer’s.
“As this horrific disease claims more and more lives, it’s imperative that we share Alzheimer’s stories with as broad an audience as possible through movies like Still Alice,” said Vradenburg. “We need people to get angry and demand action, as they did with HIV/AIDs, otherwise we will continue to lose generations to Alzheimer’s, and will bankrupt the nation in the process.”
Recent research indicates that Alzheimer’s disease claimed 500,000 lives last year in America, as more than five million victims are slowly dying of the disease in the U.S. and 44.4 million people worldwide are battling some form of dementia. These victims are cared for by 15 million caregivers in the United States and 100 million worldwide. As heartbreaking as this disease is, research shows that the direct care costs of Alzheimer’s exceed those of cancer and heart disease. Every year, American taxpayers spend $203 billion on Medicare and Medicaid expenses related to Alzheimer’s. If substantial progress is not made in stopping Alzheimer’s, Medicare and Medicaid spending will reach $1.1 trillion in today’s dollars by 2050. Yet Alzheimer’s receives dramatically less government funding, industry focus or scientific study than other less widespread diseases.
Despite these immense challenges, USAgainstAlzheimer’s agrees with leading researchers who believe that disease-modifying treatments and a cure are within reach in the next decade – if the Administration and Congress commit the necessary level of funds to Alzheimer’s research, industry accelerates the drug development process, and we bring dramatic improvements to the standards and systems of care for people living with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them.
“If we are going to meet our national goal of ending Alzheimer’s in the next decade, we must press for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community,” Vradenburg said.
USAgainstAlzheimer’s is dedicated to stopping the disease and is mobilizing the most deeply affected communities including women, African Americans, Latinos, clergy, researchers and caregivers. As part of this effort, USAgainstAlzheimer’s is soliciting reviews of Still Alice through Facebook and Twitter from its army of activists and caregivers, who have their own stories and first-hand experience with living with Alzheimer’s and caring for someone affected by it.
Still Alice, based on a novel by Lisa Genova, chronicles the story of a university professor, wife and mother who learns she has early-onset Alzheimer's. Last week, Julianne Moore won best actress in a motion picture (drama) at the Golden Globe Awards for her lead role in the film. Still Alice is one of a number of recent films that portrays people suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Others have included Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, a documentary about Campbell’s 2011 “goodbye tour,” during which he travels to more than 150 cities while suffering from Alzheimer’s, and the documentary I Remember Better When I Paint, which shows how the creative arts can enhance the quality of life for people with Alzheimer's. The 2015 Oscar nominations, announced Thursday morning, include Campbell’s “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” for best original song, which also details his struggle with Alzheimer’s.
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USAgainstAlzheimer’s is an entrepreneurial and disruptive organization demanding a solution to Alzheimer's by 2020. Driven by the suffering of millions of families, USAgainstAlzheimer’s presses for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community in the quest for an Alzheimer's cure – accomplishing this through effective leadership, collaborative advocacy, and strategic investments.
Founded in 2010, USAgainstAlzheimer’s has worked across sectors to accomplish many milestone successes including: (1) Securing the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 through the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease (NAPA) and helping secure more than $200 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer’s research over the past few years; (2) Driving global efforts that resulted in the leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, the G7 group, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and call for greater levels of investment and collaboration; and (3) Forging collaborations to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval processes.