Sarasota Based Roskamp Institute Gives Alzheimer’s Disease The Attention It Deserves
Most people find it very hard to believe that Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States. This disease is right up there with heart disease, stroke, cancer and HI/AIDS. What’s even more troubling is that the United States government doesn’t seem to be giving this disease the attention it very evidently deserves.
If you were to consider the statistics, you would see that while the other diseases get a great deal of funding, $6 billion and $4 are spent annually on research on cancer and heart disease respectively, Alzheimer’s Disease is allotted a paltry $480 million. Even HIV/AIDS research gets $3 billion every year. While there is no denying the fact that the other diseases definitely deserve the funding they receive and in fact could do with more, it is clear to see that Alzheimer’s is being short changed for some reason.
Doctors and researchers haven’t been able to crack the secrets of Alzheimer’s Disease and it continues to take lives every year. While the mortality rates for other big diseases such as certain cancers, stroke or heart disease are dropping thanks to better methods of diagnosis and treatment, the death rate for Alzheimer’s continues to grow. This ought to be a major area of concern for the government given that a major chunk of its population is sliding into old age in the next few years. Apart from the human cost of this tragedy, there will be a very big demand placed on healthcare services which are already stretched to breaking point.
Dr. Michael Mullan is a man with a mission. The Chief Executive Officer of The Roskamp Institute based in Sarasota, Florida, he has spent the last few years leading ground breaking research into what causes Alzheimer’s Disease. In fact, he has distinguished himself as one of the foremost authorities and researchers into this disease which costs the nation more than 200 billion dollars annually. He was a part of the team that discovered a genetic link to this disease, thereby opening the way to treat it. Even if a treatment is not yet available, this discovery has brought hope to the millions of people whose loved ones suffer from this disease.
The Roskamp Institute doesn’t just study Alzheimer’s. It also undertakes research on various other problems that affect the brain. The Institute’s studies on brain trauma and addiction have also garnered a lot of attention from the medical fraternity worldwide. Various governmental agencies have recognized the importance of work done by the institute and it gets funding from them. However, considering how little attention this disease gets, the Institute needs as much support as it can get so that it can carry on its excellent work.