Fighting Alzheimer’s

Monday, May 19, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, made an impassioned plea to Congress on Wednesday, asking lawmakers to support more funding for Alzheimer’s research.

O’Connor spent 25 years on the court, leaving in 2005 to spend more time with her husband, John, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. He has recently deteriorated and is often unable to recognize his wife.

O’Connor noted the incredible strain on families affected by the disease. Last year it was reported that he had fallen in love with a woman at the care center where he lives, which is not uncommon for Alzheimer’s patients.

The reach of Alzheimer’s is expected to get only worse. In the next three decades, it is expected that more than 15 million people in America will have the disease. As it is now, one in eight people 65 and older and nearly half of the people over 85 are afflicted with Alzheimer’s.

“What we have to ask is whether this rapid growth is inevitable,” O’Connor said. “I think it’s not — if we can fund the research.”

She called for a national strategy to provide more support for caregivers and more money for research and treatment. There is no doubt there is an interest to find a cure or ways to ease the disease’s terrible toll. O’Connor testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and several lawmakers had personal stories of loved ones with Alzheimer’s.

The question is whether Congress will find the money to boost Alzheimer’s research, treatment and care. It may seem unrealistic to do so in the current economy, but lawmakers should consider the long-term costs. They were told that by 2050 federal spending on Alzheimer’s treatment could reach $1 trillion — in today’s dollars.

Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease. Congress should act now before the cost, and the toll on Americans, is more overwhelming than it already is.