{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400775", "<span class =\"kicker\">***Slide Show***Rep. Smith chairs hearing on Alzheimer's Disease</span>Advancements to Treat and Cure Alzheimers Being Made, but Significant Challenges Persist, Medical Experts Tell Congress", "2017-11-29", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Recent developments in the research of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease have signaled that major medical breakthroughs could be coming, none too soon for this disease that is currently incurable and which poses a special burden to patients in developing countries who lack access to cutting-edge treatments, expert witness testified at a Congressional hearing on \u201cA Global Update on Alzheimer\u2019s Disease,\u201d held today by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Chairman of the House global health subcommittee. PHOTO SLIDE SHOW AT LEFT FROM THE CONGESSIONALLY HEARING\r\n\u201cAlzheimer\u2019s is a cruel disease, robbing its victims of their memories and their very identities, and robbing their family and friends of the person they know and love,\u201d Smith, who is also the co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, stated. Click here for Smith\u2019s opening statement.  The hearing was carried live by CSPAN and can be watched in its entirety by clicking here.\r\n\u201cIt is excruciatingly painful for someone to lose themselves gradually \u2013 to find themselves increasingly alone in a world they know,\u201d Smith said. \r\nTuesday\u2019s hearing comes on the heels of the World Health Organization\u2019s pronouncement in July, setting official benchmarks for countries to develop strategies to prevent and treat Alzheimer\u2019s. This major development came after the National Alzheimer\u2019s Project Act, which Smith co-authored and which became law in 2011, set up national goals for the U.S. to have successful treatment and prevention of Alzheimer\u2019s by 2025.\r\n\u201cAs we open today\u2019s hearing, there are an estimated 47 million people in the world living with Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other forms of dementia\u2014more than the entire population of Spain\u2014according to a report by Alzheimer\u2019s Disease International,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe total estimated global cost of addressing this condition today is $818 billion, but by as early as next year, it is estimated that this cost will rise to at least one trillion dollars.\u201d\u00a0 \r\nThe subcommittee has now held four hearings on Alzheimer\u2019s, including Tuesday\u2019s hearing. At the hearing, leading officials at the National Institutes of Health \u2013 experts on elderly care and international research \u2013 testified about both the challenges of Alzheimer\u2019s and positive developments in research on this disease. \r\n\u201cIn most people with Alzheimer\u2019s, symptoms first appear after age 60, although a much smaller subset of patients see onset at earlier ages,\u201d said Marie A. Bernard, MD, Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. \u201cAlthough treatment can help manage symptoms in some people, there is currently no cure for this devastating disease.\u201d\r\n\u201cAs recently as 2004, there were no established biomarkers for Alzheimer\u2019s,\u201d Roger Glass, MD, PhD, Director of the Fogarty International Center and Associate Director for International Research at the National Institutes of Health, stated. Click here to read Dr. Bernard and Dr. Glass\u2019 full testimony.\r\n\u201cToday, not only can we image both amyloid plaques and tau tangles (the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer\u2019s disease) in the living brain, but we have also identified many other potentially promising biomarkers, from blood proteins to early changes in an individual\u2019s sense of smell,\u201d Glass said. \r\nAnother 2016 study, conducted by scientists at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Zurich, showed that patients who received the drug aducanumab showed positive signs in Alzheimer\u2019s treatment, Smith noted. The patients \u201cexperienced\u00a0an almost complete clearance of the amyloid plaques that prevent brain cells communicating, leading to irreversible memory loss and cognitive decline,\u201d Smith said. \r\nOther challenges to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer\u2019s persist however, witnesses said, including special challenges in developing countries and a lack of formal diagnoses for patients with Alzheimer\u2019s.\r\n\u201cThis problem is growing more quickly in developing countries than in industrialized countries,\u201d Mary Mittelman, Dr.PH, research professor at the Departments of Psychiatry and Rehabilitative Medicine and Director at NYU Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Family Support Program at NYU School of Medicine and NYU Langone Health, said. Click here to read Dr. Mittelman\u2019s testimony.\r\n\u201cWhile new pharmaceutical interventions may provide more benefits than those that are currently available, they are likely to be expensive, and may be unaffordable by many families dealing with dementia,\u201d Dr. Mittelman said. \r\n\u201cUnited States figures suggest that only about 50% get a formal diagnosis, and more troubling is the fact that as many as 30% or persons with a diagnosis in their medical record have not been informed of their diagnosis,\u201d Michael Splaine, owner and principal of Splaine Consulting, stated. Click here for Splaine\u2019s testimony.\r\n\u201cThe clinical presentation and care burden of patients is quite similar across geographies, countries and health systems. Memory problems, difficulty in communication and progressively greater need for assistance in activities of daily living are found in all patients regardless of country,\u201d Richard Mohs, Chief Scientific Officer at the Global Alzheimer\u2019s Platform (GAP) Foundation, stated. Click here for Mohs\u2019 testimony.\r\n\u00a0\r\nFor the most updated version of this release, click on:\r\nhttps://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400775\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400775"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8215769194066525, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}