A January 6, 2012 The Des Moines Register op-ed by George Vradenburg and Dr. Andrea McGuire, chairwoman of the board of advisors of the University of Iowa College of Public Health, advocated for increased investment in Alzheimer’s research.
According to the article, “One in eight Iowans age 65 and older has it. It is America’s sixth-leading cause of death. It will cost $183 billion this year alone, mostly in Medicare and Medicaid expenses. It’s Alzheimer’s disease, and from those statistics, you would think our country would be urgently and aggressively trying to stop it. But we’re not — and it’s time that changed.”
“As health care costs keep rising, we must move beyond rhetoric-filled debate and implement real solutions — like investing in the prevention of chronic diseases to reduce the cost of care. One disease in particular has had relatively little invested and still has no means of prevention.”