BANGOR, Maine — Alzheimer’s research is desperately needed because it is currently the most costly disease in the United States and there is no way to prevent, treat or cure it, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said at a Wednesday gathering at Acadia Hospital.
Acadia treats more than 800 patients in its Geriatric Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry Program, and is now conducting clinical drug trials focused on treating Alzheimer’s in partnership with Eastern Maine Medical Center.
“It is a tidal wave. It’s a tsunami,” Collins said in describing the number of baby boomers expected to begin to suffer from the most common form of dementia as they enter their at-risk years.
Alzheimer’s, which attacks the brain and causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior, is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Costs associated with the disease total around $226 billion annually, the senator said.
Around 37,000 Mainers and an estimated 5.2 million in the U.S. suffer from the disease, Collins said.
Dr. Clifford Singer, chief of geriatric neuropsychology at Acadia and EMMC, gave a summary of partnerships and the programs offered locally, including the clinical trials, and family members of two residents who are enrolled in the trials talked about the benefits.
“Mom can’t be alone anymore,” Lisa Jordan or Orrington said of her mother, Gladys McCann of Bangor, who has Alzheimer’s and is participating in a clinical trial.
“The difference we’ve seen with her being on this [trial medication] is remarkable,” Jordan said. “She’s regained things she was not able to remember. My fear, this is not FDA-approved yet, is when the year is up and she goes off it.”
Jordan said she and her five siblings have worked to keep their mother at home, where McCann is comfortable, and she does not want to see her mom institutionalized, like her grandmother was years ago.
“Her mom also had Alzheimer’s and at that time she was at BMHI [Bangor Mental Health Institute] for 10 years,” Jordan said.
“That is what they did back then,” Singer, the principal investigator with the Acadia/EMMC Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials Program, said in response to her statement.
BMHI is now the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center.
Bangor resident Thom Frisk, whose wife, Jackie, has early onset Alzheimer’s, also spoke about how difficult it has been since her diagnosis. He has had to give up his teaching job to be an at-home, 24-7 caregiver, Frisk said, with his wife seated beside him.
In addition to the clinical trials, Acadia and EMMC are also working with the University of Maine to create a virtual academic medical center, Singer said. Collins said Alzheimer’s work is also being done at Jackson Lab and the University of New England.
Collins started the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s a decade ago, and remains a co-chair along with another Republican and two Democrats. She said years ago people didn’t want to talk about Alzheimer’s and dementia, so increasing awareness has been an incredible change over the last 10 years.
In December Congress approved a $350 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institute on Aging, bringing the total amount available for Alzheimer’s disease research to $936 million.
“This is nearly a 60 percent increase in funds for Alzheimer’s research,” Collins told the group, which also included doctors, clinicians and others from Acadia. “While this is still less than the $2 billion the experts say is needed to prevent or effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025, it’s really a breakthrough.”
Collins has recently sponsored a bill to also offer support to caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients.
“I think that is an important part of the puzzle, as important as the research,” the senator said.