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DeSantis gives Florida an extra $12 million in fight against Alzheimer’s, dementia

South Florida Sun Sentinel - 6/21/2021

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $12 million increase in funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia research and care.

“We look forward to the medical breakthrough that will eventually bring a cure,” said DeSantis, speaking Monday at Windsor at San Pablo in Jacksonville, an assisted living and memory care facility,

Here’s where the additional money in the state’s $51 million budget for Alzheimer’s and dementia will go:

DeSantis said Florida is only state that has Alzheimer’s and dementia as its own priority within the state public health improvement plan. The announcement of additional funding follows Alzheimer’s Association’s longest day awareness fundraiser for the disease on June 21.

In Florida, Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, is the sixth leading cause of death. The state has 580,000 people ages 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s, the governor said.

Richard Prudom, secretary for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, said the state has been focused on becoming more dementia-friendly. Florida now has task forces throughout the state and 17 memory care clinics.

Dedicated funding in the state improvement plan will help as care centers and caregivers try to use technology solutions to reverse the impact from isolation during the pandemic.

The state also will use the additional funding to provide training to caregivers “to equip them to be better professionals in this demanding and difficult career,” Prudom said.

During the news briefing, families of Alzheimer’s patients in Florida emphasized that the disease can affect anyone, even as young as 50.

Michelle Branham, vice president of public policy for the Alzheimer’s Association for Florida, said people affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s have new hope in the newly FDA-approved Biogen’s Aduhelm drug for the disease.

“We consider Biogen’s Aduhelm a celebratory time of victory in the world of Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. “I know it has some controversy. Our priority is to find affordability and accessibility for the drug.”

Aduhelm was approved based on evidence that it can reduce brain plaques, a likely contributor to Alzheimer’s, rather than proof that it slows the progression of the harsh disease.

Branham said funding and timing of a diagnosis is going to be critical going forward. Aduhelm is considered expensive and Medicare has not yet said it will pay for it. “You will have to be diagnosed early for the drug to have the most effect,” she said.

Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com

©2021 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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