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Federal Alzheimer's Research Defunded

Carl46
Carl46 Member Posts: 629
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The Roy Blunt Alzheimer's research center at the National Institutes of Health has had its budget slashed as part of the ongoing random cost-cutting program. The center does research on what now-retired Senator Blunt (R - MO) called "our most expensive disease."

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  • Bailey's Mom
    Bailey's Mom Member Posts: 152
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    I'm so disappointed to see a link to Rachel Maddow on this site…we all have enough troubles dealing with caregiving…no place for politics here.

  • wose
    wose Member Posts: 163
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  • sandwichone123
    sandwichone123 Member Posts: 900
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    Rachel Maddow is actually journalism, not politics.

  • [Deleted User]
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  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 1,338
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    I saw a post on social media this week that there were cuts being made at the NIH. My husband died in August from Alzheimer's and I have been fighting cancer since 2017 so this worried me greatly. Also my daughter works for a major cancer hospital that receives funding for cancer research So I decided to look into it myself and get some facts. Here's what I found: 

    NIH NEW research grants have been suspended temporarily for review. The review will be quick & proper funding will resume. Old grants already approved will not be cut unless they find fraud. 

    There were other cuts but only for INDIRECT costs such as administrative & overhead. NO cuts for actual research have been or will be made. Just the bloated overhead. This will mean more funding for actual research. 

    The Neurosciences group that does Alzheimer's research had a director who was fired by the former administration in Sept 2024 after a 9 month investigation into research misconduct. The interim person was declared acting director internally but not by the administration and was never confirmed even as "acting". He was fired recently along with 10 other administrative employees of the 100 administrative employees in the NIH Neurosciences Division which oversees research grants for Alzheimer's, Dementia & other brain diseases. None of these 11 employees had anything to do with research. There will probably be a new director named shortly. 

    All of this info is readily available online. 

    So if you hear anything about this, don't worry. We have enough to worry about. Pray for a cure for this terrible disease. 🙏

  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 1,338
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    the truth: I saw a post on social media this week that there were cuts being made at the NIH. My husband died in August from Alzheimer's and I have been fighting cancer since 2017 so this worried me greatly. Also my daughter works for a major cancer hospital that receives funding for cancer research So I decided to look into it myself and get some facts. Here's what I found: 

    NIH NEW research grants have been suspended temporarily for review. The review will be quick & proper funding will resume. Old grants already approved will not be cut unless they find fraud. 

    There were other cuts but only for INDIRECT costs such as administrative & overhead. NO cuts for actual research have been or will be made. Just the bloated overhead. This will mean more funding for actual research. 

    The Neurosciences group that does Alzheimer's research had a director who was fired by the former administration in Sept 2024 after a 9 month investigation into research misconduct. The interim person was declared acting director internally but not by the administration and was never confirmed even as "acting". He was fired recently along with 10 other administrative employees of the 100 administrative employees in the NIH Neurosciences Division which oversees research grants for Alzheimer's, Dementia & other brain diseases. None of these 11 employees had anything to do with research. There will probably be a new director named shortly. 

    All of this info is readily available online. 

    So if you hear anything about this, don't worry. We have enough to worry about. Pray for a cure for this terrible disease. 🙏

  • [Deleted User]
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  • Bailey's Mom
    Bailey's Mom Member Posts: 152
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    Ouch! I'll keep my mouth shut from now on…

  • Quilting brings calm
    Quilting brings calm Member Posts: 2,725
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    and here we are again …. A thread that has evolved into political posts that set all of us on edge no matter what our political leanings are. Stop. This is a forum for dementia support. We all have to be comfortable here.

  • BPS
    BPS Member Posts: 196
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    We all have a lot of reason to be interested in the research, but these cuts are very early in the process. More money doesn't necessarily mean better outcome. You can look at many programs and see that. I think we should Lobby for outcome and remember that we are here for support and to support each other. I value the comments on here and hope no leaves the form over a disagreement.

  • Russinator
    Russinator Member Posts: 156
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    I'm sad

  • wose
    wose Member Posts: 163
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    Im so sorry @LBC83 that is just heartbreaking and so scary. My Grandmother and Mom both had Parkinson’s. I am terrified of it happening to me. The research I’ve been following is amazing and I finally feel like it could be in reach for us. Some things are just plain irreplaceable.

  • psg712
    psg712 Member Posts: 472
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    Good information, thank you. Sad for all who love someone battling a dementia or for those like you who fight your own battle. All the best to you. Hold on to your hope!

  • WIGO23
    WIGO23 Member Posts: 161
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  • howdoidothis
    howdoidothis Member Posts: 32
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    edited February 24

    No place for politics? Tell that to the administration using cuts to Medicaid, the CDC, and USAID as a show of political power.

  • [Deleted User]
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  • rockymtngrrl
    rockymtngrrl Member Posts: 13
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    My Republican representative has not responded at all to any of my requests for information, nor has he spoken to the constituents of his district in any town halls. He ran on being reasonable, and a supporter of law and order. I have since called his office several times asking for specific info on bills they are proposing and have yet to hear anything back. He spent his recess talking to friendly groups and not talking to constituents even though we beg in the FB comments to speak to us. How can you get facts and information from an elected official who ignores you? This is not "politics" at all, instead it is getting our government to work for us and tell us what's going on truthfully.

  • [Deleted User]
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  • ImMaggieMae
    ImMaggieMae Member Posts: 1,085
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    So please share where you go to access full interviews, source documents and actual bills and how you determine they are factual and not “facts” that are going to change in a couple days or weeks?

  • LBC83
    LBC83 Member Posts: 81
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    edited February 25

    Regarding providing links to sources, here are my sources:

    NIH Center for Alzheimer's and Released Dementia's (CARD) This is background info about the org with the recent 10% reduction in staff

    Wikipedia article for Andrew Singleton, Current CARD Director

    2022 NIH Press Release about Grand Opening for CARD

    Info about Kedall Vn Keuren-Jensen, she had apparently recently joined CARD as a planned replacement for Andrew Singleton

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  • LBC83
    LBC83 Member Posts: 81
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    Today my inbox included an e-mail from BioPharma Dive Newsletter (which I subscribe to for updated info about AD drug testing). The Newsletter included an article about the recent administration proposed changes to NIH grants. I skimmed the article, it seems to provide a good view from the perspective of the BioPharma industry.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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