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Clinton Announces Funds To Accelerate Research On Alzheimer's Vaccine CAMP DAVID, Maryland (AFP) - President Bill Clinton announced that the National Institutes of Health are to dedicate $50 million towards developing a vaccine to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Clinton made the announcement in a statement from Camp David, where the Middle East peace summit is underway, following a world conference on the degenerative memory disease in Washington this past week. "Earlier this week, we learned that there has been exciting new progress in our quest to understand the root cause of and to possibly prevent Alzheimer's disease," Clinton said. Among research presented at the World Alzheimer's Congress 2000, which ends on July 18, the company Elan Pharmaceuticals said that a vaccine, effective in combating signs of the disease in the brains of mice, is safe for use by humans. Clinton said such research brings hope "not only for Americans who are at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease in the future, but for those who are already in its early stages." About four million U.S. citizens, including former president Ronald Reagan, suffer from Alzheimer's disease. That figure is set to increase to 14 million in the next 50 years if the disease remains untreatable, Clinton said. The president repeated calls for Congress to pass government-funded prescription drug benefits for seniors, saying that without the "long overdue" Medicare benefit, eventual treatments for Alzheimer's "will not be available or affordable to millions of older Americans"
Newswires |
