Alzheimer’s research underway at the University of Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - University of Virginia experts gathered Saturday, November 18 and spoke about the different stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and future directions in Alzheimer’s research.

One expert says that AD is the most expensive disease in the United States, even more than cancer and heart disease.

“It’s arguably the most daunting medical problem facing humankind right now,” UVA Professor George Bloom said, “The ever-growing awareness of the importance of caretakers in Alzheimer’s disease, and also what’s going on under the hood and in the brain, what the biology of Alzheimer’s disease is.”

He says the total cost for treating Alzheimer’s Disease in American was around $320 billion in 2022 and growing.

“Unless we can do better than we are right now, in terms of preventing and treating Alzheimer’s Disease by the middle of the century, that’ll be almost $2 trillion in 2022 dollars, without even taking into account inflation,” Bloom said.

Experts say while there is not yet a cure, there are ways to prevent AD.

Carol Manning is the Director of the Memory Loss Disorders Clinic at UVA and has seen firsthand what is being down to change that.

“Nobody is protected at this point, although there are things you can do to help protect yourself from it,” Manning said, “Lots of us are working hard both to find a cure for the disease, slow down the disease, and really to help all the people who are already living with the disease.”

By hosting events like these, more people will become proactive in prioritizing their neurological health.

“The sooner we can identify the disease, the sooner we can get people into clinical trials where there are potential drugs that either slow down the disease or ultimately will prevent the disease from occurring,” Manning said.

Both Bloom and Manning are spearheading a clinical trial of their own geared toward people with a family history of AD but not symptoms.

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