Proposed budget for Alzheimer's research may rise by over 50%

The spending deal Congress passed Tuesday night includes an unprecedented increase in funding for Alzheimer's research: $350 million in fiscal 2016. If approved by the White House, it will increase government spending on the disease by over 50 percent. Advocates have long pushed for significant increases in Alzheimer's spending, calling it a coming crisis and saying it should be funded at the same level as cancer, HIV/AIDS and heart disease research. A panel of scientists convened by the Alzheimer's Association estimated that the National Institutes of Health would need $2 billion a year to maximize the chances of curing or preventing the disease by 2025. This year's increase puts the NIH well on its way toward that goal.