What SHOULD politicians be prepared to do to fight Alzheimer's disease NOW?

Question

Second Opinion
Zen and the Art of Coping With Alzheimer’s
By DENISE GRADY Published: August 14, 2007
NewYork Times
During the YouTube forum with the Democratic presidential candidates in July, the first question about health care came from two middle-age brothers in Iowa, who faced the camera with their elderly mother. Not everybody with Alzheimer’s disease has two loving sons to take care of them, they said, adding that a boom in dementia is expected in the next few decades. “What are you prepared to do to fight this disease now?” they asked.The politicians mouthed generalities about health care, larded with poignant anecdotes.
None of them answered the question about Alzheimer’s.

OF COURSE- this has nothing to do with the gov't actually curing this disease . or any other one. It has to do with what they are going to do to help those who suffer from it, their families and the country( like others) who will be overwhelmed with the boomers getting this uncurable condition in the coming decades. What will they do now to prepare for that future reality?? What will they do now for families who are struggling to care for parents and grandparents with limited resources, financial and otherwise? why wait for the crisis to Really be upon us?

here's the whole article that inspired this unanswered (by politicians) question:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/health/14seco.html?em&ex=1187409600&en=9d12b62e641d4304&ei=5087%0A

Answer 1

Survey Finds Serious Gaps in Public's Knowledge About Alzheimer's Disease and What Can Be Done to Fight It

Alzheimer's Association Advises Americans to 'Maintain Your Brain'

Feb. 12, 2004 - A new national survey released today by the Alzheimer's Association finds that most Americans aren't aware of the progress being made in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. Fewer than half (44 percent) know that treatments are now available that can ease symptoms and improve quality of life. Even though scientists have made huge leaps in their understanding of Alzheimer's over the past 15 years, only 29 percent of Americans surveyed think scientists are on the brink of more significant advances. Only one-quarter (24 percent) believe a cure will be found in their lifetime.

"The gap between public perception and scientific reality is troubling," said Sheldon Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association at a press conference at the New York Public Library. "The Alzheimer's Association's goal of delaying the disabling symptoms and eventually preventing Alzheimer's appears to be a feasible scientific objective that we believe the research community can achieve in the next decade. The Association will lead the effort to make Americans aware of what we know and help us increase the pace of research, so that we can achieve our goal of a world without Alzheimer's disease."

In addition to releasing the survey, the Association launched a national campaign designed to change the way Americans think about Alzheimer's. The campaign will especially target the nation's 77 million baby boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964). By 2030, when the entire baby boom generation is over 65, the number of Americans with Alzheimer's is projected to increase 70 percent, with an estimated 7.7 million people affected.

Americans asked to "Maintain Your Brain"

The campaign will urge baby boomers and all Americans to "Maintain Your Brain." There is increasing evidence that changes in lifestyle and health habits such as those that help the heart -- exercising, eating properly, and controlling weight, cholesterol and blood pressure -- may also benefit the brain. The Alzheimer's Association will help Americans understand what is now known about the benefits of a healthy brain and its potential for reducing risk for Alzheimer's disease.

"We're asking Americans to 'Maintain Your Brain,' and understand that healthy aging is a process that should begin sooner rather than later in life in order to remain healthy of body and mind for as long as possible," said Dr. Marilyn Albert, Chairman of the Association's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council. "More research is necessary, especially in the form of prevention trials, but there is increasing evidence that managing blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and body weight contribute to healthier aging and may also decrease your risk for Alzheimer's." Dr. Albert added that "our focus on brain health is a direct result of the tremendous progress that has been made by the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer's Disease Centers, universities, pharmaceutical companies and the Association in understanding how our brain changes as we age."

The survey was conducted Dec. 8-22, 2003, by phone among a representative sample of 600 Americans age 35 and older. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three (+/- 3) percentage points. Some of the key findings among those of baby boomer age surveyed include:

* Nearly half (46 percent) know someone with Alzheimer's, and 23 percent

had a part in caring for a person with Alzheimer's.



* Only 19 percent feel well prepared to handle a diagnosis of Alzheimer's

disease in a family member.



* 63 percent of boomers said they are making lifestyle changes to reduce

the risk of heart disease. These habits may now also deliver an added

benefit for the brain.



(A full survey report can be found on the Association's Web site at

www.alz.org)



"These findings tell us that we have tremendous work to do in educating Americans about the disease itself, the resources available to them, and what they can do to fight it," said Goldberg. "When we ask Americans to 'Maintain Your Brain,' we're also asking them to learn what we know about Alzheimer's disease, understand what America's medical research community has accomplished and join us in advocating for a renewed commitment to research and improved care for those with Alzheimer's disease."

The survey found that Americans consider Alzheimer research to be a priority; 65 percent of the total sample said that finding a cure should be a priority for the federal government. Among those over the age of 58, 73 percent agreed with that.

Answer 2

They should do crossword puzzles or Suduko to sharpen their brains, for it seems most of Congress suffers from the disease, having long since forgotten about the American People. They are bankrupting the Nation and obviously don't give a hoot about what happens to the public. Instead they vote to spend 900 billion on "Defense" this year, more than all other nations in the world combined! That is quite a payback to their corporate big donors, while the rest of us can look forward to trying to get a job cleaning toilets for the Chinese, who now own the mortgage on this country.

Politicians have no answers for questions like this, and clearly don't care.

Answer 3

They really don't care about you or your mother if nothing is in it for them. All politicians both dem and rep will say anything to get a vote from you and that is all it's about. When did we lose this country when did they stop caring for they're own people. It's sad to see our government care more for other countries then it's own. The money our government is giving away is our hard earn money that our government makes us pay to them so shouldn't we have more say so on who gets it and how much.

Answer 4

The best thing politicians can do regarding any kind of health care issue is to get as far away from it as possible and allow the free market to function. If there is a need the market will fill it, if there is no need the government cannot falsely create one.

Answer 5

I read in this forum every day people that do not want to provide health care to anyone out of their tax money. Their cry is "Let everybody provide their own health care, I provide mine". Now everybody wants the government to do something about Alzheimer's disease. Which is it?

Answer 6

Nothing, Leave it to Private Enterprise. Far more technological and other scientific advances have come from entities independent from the government than those associated with the government.

Answer 7

What is the best thingh about having Alzheimers?

Being able to hide your own Easter eggs!

Answer 8

I'm not convinced that curing diseases -- any disease -- is the government's responsibility.