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A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging

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Congress to increase federal funding for Alzheimer's

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disease research.

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer's disease is a progressive degenerative

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disorder that destroys cells in the brain and is the leading

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cause of dementia, a condition that involves memory loss, decline

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in the ability to perform routine tasks, disorientation,

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difficulty in learning, loss of language skills, impairment of

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judgment, and personality changes, and

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     WHEREAS, as Alzheimer's disease progresses, individuals with

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the disease become unable to care for themselves, and

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     WHEREAS, as many as 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's

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disease, including approximately 500,000 Floridians, and, by

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2050, the number of individuals in the United States with the

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disease could range from 13 million to 16 million unless a way to

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prevent or cure the disease is discovered, and

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer's disease strikes approximately 1 in 10

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people over the age of 65 and nearly half of those who are age 85

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or older, and

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     WHEREAS, the average lifetime cost of care for an individual

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with Alzheimer's disease is $170,000, and

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     WHEREAS, half of all nursing home residents have Alzheimer's

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disease or a related disorder, with the average annual cost of

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nursing home care for individuals with the disease exceeding

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$70,000 per resident, and

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     WHEREAS, Medicaid pays half of the total nursing home bills

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for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and helps 2 out of 3

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residents pay for their care, and

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     WHEREAS, Medicaid expenditures for nursing home care for

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individuals with Alzheimer's disease are estimated to increase

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from $21 billion in 2005 to $24 billion in 2010, and

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     WHEREAS, 1 in 8 caregivers for individuals with Alzheimer's

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disease becomes ill or injured as a direct result of caregiving,

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and 1 in 3 uses medication for problems related to caregiving,

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with older caregivers being 3 times more likely to become

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clinically depressed than others in their age group, and

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     WHEREAS, a 4-year study conducted by researchers from the

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University of Pittsburgh showed that elderly spouses strained by

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caregiving were 63 percent more likely to die during that 4-year

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period than their noncaregiving counterparts, and

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     WHEREAS, if our nation achieves its research goals of

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preventing the onset of Alzheimer's disease in those at risk and

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treating and delaying progression of the disease in those already

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ill, annual Medicare savings would be $51 billion by 2015 and $88

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billion by 2020, annual Medicaid savings would be $10 billion in

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2015 and $17 billion by 2020, and the projected number of cases

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of the disease would be reduced by 40 percent by the middle of

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the century, and

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     WHEREAS, a cure for Alzheimer's disease may be achieved

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sooner by increasing funding of Alzheimer's disease research at

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established and reputable research institutes, and

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     WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States appropriated $642

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million for Alzheimer's disease research during fiscal year 2007-

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2008, NOW, THEREFORE,

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Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     That the Congress of the United States is urged to increase

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federal funding for Alzheimer's disease research by $360 million

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during fiscal year 2008-2009.

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     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

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dispatched to the President of the United States, to the

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President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the

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United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the

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Florida delegation to the United States Congress.