"This is a unique opportunity, maybe an opportunity of a lifetime in a sense, to really have an impact on this disease," says Dr. Ronald Petersen of the Mayo Clinic, who chairs a committee that later this month will begin advising the government on what the plan should address.
It's estimated that 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer's or similar dementias, and the disease is the sixth-leading killer in the U.S. There is no cure, and treatments can only temporarily ease certain symptoms. Without a major research breakthrough, these figures will only increase as baby boomers age -- by 2050, anywhere from 13 million to 16 million Americans are projected to have Alzheimer's, costing $1 trillion in medical and caregiving expenses.
The toll taken on family members can be a brutal one: a recent report found that nearly 15 million people, mostly family members, are providing more than $200 billion worth of unpaid care for victims of Alzheimer's.
A report from advocacy group Alzheimer's Disease International says that every country should have a national dementia strategy, noting that as many as half of U.S. patients haven't been formally diagnosed.
