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Home > Innovative Medical Research |
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As our elderly population grows, the extreme strain of chronic disease on our society will only worsen. In the next 25 years, the number of Americans with chronic diseases is projected to reach 46 million. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurological disease, and diabetes are only going to become more pervasive, affecting an increasing percentage of the population as our elderly demographics explode.
The good news is that advances from innovation in medical research are transforming health care and helping us to live longer, healthier lives. Many of us can look forward to old age as an exciting new chapter in our lives, instead of a period of frailty and dependence. Medical innovation has already proven its value in not only improving the length and quality of life, but also in helping to contain medical costs. Resulting improvements in health care often far outweigh increased spending--every dollar invested in health care produces up to three dollars in health care gains. We must be sure to consider both the financial and human impact medical innovation can have on the burden of chronic disease. Short-sighted efforts to reduce spending often target the initial expenses of investing in medical innovation, ignoring the remarkable returns.
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“Willena is 75 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years ago. Her daughter and primary caregiver, Wanda Richardson, believes that her mother went undiagnosed for at least 15 years prior to that time.
Willena’s family was told by an emergency room doctor that she had Alzheimer’s disease after she wandered away one morning and turned up at the neighborhood doughnut shop in her night clothes. She had displayed odd behaviors for many years says Wanda, 38, who now provides full-time care for her mother.
Willena requires 24-hour supervision. The smallest tasks have become test of endurance for her. Wanda explains, ‘She does not respond to me anymore. It takes two hours to even get her ready for the day.’
Wanda’s life has changed as dramatically as her mother’s. She only works part-time now and her personal life is on hold. Mostly, she worries about her young son and how he is affected by her severely restricted life.
Wanda realizes that her mother will not get better and may live this way for years. ‘There needs to be more research done. We need a cure. I might be next,’ Wanda says.”
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Research!America. "Investment in Research Saves Lives and Money". 2005. [ Permalink ] |
A recent study showed that memantine, a medicine approved to treat moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s, significantly slows cognitive decline and reduces the need for caregiving by 45.8 hours per month.
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Reisberg, Barry, Rachelle Doody, Albrecht Stöffler, Frederick Schmitt, Steven Ferris, and Hans Jörg Möbius. "Memantine in Moderate-to-Severe Alzheimer s Disease". New England Journal of Medicine . Vol. 348, No. 14, pp. 1333-41. [ Permalink ] |
Deep brain stimulation, an electrical signal delivered deep inside the brain, provides significant symptomatic relief for Parkinson’s patients whose medication is no longer effective.
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Parkinson's Action Network. "About Parkinson's Disease". [ Permalink ] |
Electrical stimulation of a portion of the thalamus, guided with MRI, can rapidly and dramatically reduce tremors from Parkinson’s.
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AdvaMed. "Medical Technology and Assistive Devices". [ Permalink ] |
Delaying the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease would reduce the projected number of people with moderate to severe cases of the disase to 4.4 million instead of 10.3 million in 2050.
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The Lewin Group. Saving Lives, Saving Money: Dividends for Americans investing in Alzheimer research. Falls Church, VA: The Lewin Group. 2004. [ Permalink ] |
"If you or a loved one started exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer's disease 12 years ago, there were no medicines for you to take. All you could do was hope--that your decline into dementia would be slow, that your memory and independence would last as long as possible, that someone would come up with an effective treatment."
Now "[t]here are three different classes of medication available to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and even slow its progression. If you were diagnosed today, you could take an active role in treating your illness, retaining mental function and independence for longer. More innovations are needed, but the rapid progress of the past two decades has made a difference in the lives of families nationwide."
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PhRMA. "Innovation.org". [ Permalink ] |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved 5 drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. These drugs have been found to temporarily slow the worsening of Alzheimer's symptoms for an average of 6-12 months, for around 1/2 of those individuals who take the drugs.
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Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2009. 2009. [ Permalink ] |
Studies have shown that active medical management of Alzheimer's disease can significantly improve quality-of-life for the individual through all stages of the disease.
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Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2009. 2009. [ Permalink ] |
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