$350 Million to Be Given to Alzheimer's Research in 2020 Funding Bill

Leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have allocated an extra $350 million per year for research into Alzheimer's and dementia, making annual appropriations $2.8 billion in total, reports Being Patient . "We are incredibly grateful to congressional champions for their support and we are proud of the relationships our advocates have built with all members of Congress to demonstrate the need for research and the impact it will have on their families and future generations," stated the Alzheimer's Association's Robert Egge. According to Eliezer Masliah at the National Institute on Aging's Division of Neuroscience, growing congressional support opens many new possibilities for research into treatment and a cure for dementia. He said the increase in funding marks a "golden era" for studying Alzheimer's, although the research community has a long road ahead of it. Last month the Alzheimer's Association announced Bill Gates' pledge of $10 million to Alzheimer's research as another major milestone, which will lead to $60 million in funding for special research. This research is designed to fast-track potential therapies from the laboratory to clinical trials. The association said the new funds would be channeled into investigations into how brain cells use energy and fuel, how they purge waste and debris to avoid protein clumping, and how blood supply in the brain is maintained.