The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) today applauded the Obama Administration for continuing its strong commitment to families affected by Alzheimer's disease by boosting funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research into a cure both this year and in its proposed 2013 fiscal year budget.

    By increasing NIH research funding for Alzheimer's disease by an extra $50 million this year and proposing an additional $80 million for the 2013 fiscal year, as well as $26 million for support for caregivers, today's announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) aligns with AFA's advocacy efforts over the past 18 months for significantly stepped-up government funding aimed at preventing, treating or curing Alzheimer's disease as the incidence of the brain disease reaches crisis proportion.

     NIH currently spends about $450 million a year on Alzheimer's research. When President Obama releases his fiscal year 2013 budget on February 13, he will ask Congress for $80 million in new money for Alzheimer's research, according to Administration officials.

    The funding for caregiver support would be aimed at improving caregiver support in the community, raising public awareness and training of healthcare providers, officials said.

    The additional funding comes as federal leaders are crafting the nation's first strategic plan to defeat Alzheimer's disease, as mandated under the National Alzheimer's Disease Project Act (NAPA) signed into law by President Obama last year.

    "The Administration's efforts to carve out funds for Alzheimer's disease despite the challenging fiscal environment signals its ongoing commitment to this devastating disease, and helps pave the way for scientific discoveries that can potentially change lives and save lives," said Eric J. Hall, AFA's president and CEO, and a member of the Advisory Council on Research, Care and Services, which is advising on the historic national plan.

   "We're racing against the clock to advance a solution to this crisis from both cure and care standpoints," Hall emphasized. "Our aging population can't wait any longer. It is imperative that we continue to focus on the bigger picture and move toward our goal to defeat Alzheimer's disease and provide vital support to families. This type of investment is critical so that it doesn't cost the government, as well as families, more in the long run."

    AFA initially highlighted the steep shortfall in funding by NIH and specifically the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the primary government agency responsible for aging research, in its report "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish: Fairness and Funding at the National Institute on Aging" released in May 2011; and then again last October, in its "No Time to Waste" report with its bold recommendations for a national plan to overcome Alzheimer's disease.