Ralph Carmona of Portland suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, but he said its progression has stopped thanks to the medications he takes and his healthy lifestyle.

Senator Susan Collins Courtesy of General Dynamics

These opportunities for him and other patients are not a fluke, Carmona said, but rather a huge effort by the federal government to combat Alzheimer’s disease, a disease that robs people of the capacity of their brains to function.

Two new laws initiated by Senator Susan Collins – signed into law on October 1 – will continue to pour federal funds into Alzheimer’s research and treatment until at least 2035. The Maine Republican is founder and co-chair of the congressional task force. on Alzheimer’s disease.

Carmona said laws passed by Congress in 2011 — championed by Collins — helped speed up the research that allowed him to enroll in college. clinical trials in Boston in 2015, to get him the drugs that now saved his life.

That drug, Leqembi, has since been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is now available for patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The drug removes and stops the progression of amyloid plaque that builds up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Clumps of amyloid plaque, when they spread, inhibit the cognitive functioning of the brain.

Leqembi was approved by the FDA in July 2023. Another drug that also attacks amyloid plaque, Kisunla, was approved by the FDA in July.

Collins pushed for two new bills that were recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden – the National Alzheimer’s Disease Reauthorization Act and the Accountability and Compliance Act. investment in Alzheimer’s disease – which will extend and expand the National Institute of Health’s initiative to combat Alzheimer’s disease. at least 2035.

“This is a giant step,” Carmona said of the law’s passage. “We are at the start of something very big. We are all facing this common enemy that is this disease.

Collins, in an interview with the Press Herald, said the 2011 laws “spurred research that has now led to two drugs that have been shown to be effective in slowing cognitive decline.” The 2011 laws were set to expire, so Collins lobbied for support from Congress, leading to the passage of two new bills that would continue to invest billions annually in research and development, treatment , prevention and care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists are currently developing a blood test that will make it easier to detect Alzheimer’s disease at an earlier stage.

“This is very important, extending the law until 2035 will give this research stability and predictability,” Collins said. “This will help us ensure that we invest substantially in this biomedical research.”

The current annual investment is $3.8 billion, and Collins said that represents a seven-fold increase from before the initial initiative launched in 2011. Annual funding has more than doubled from 2017.

As the state with the highest median age, Maine is disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases that affect brain function.

Seven million people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, including about 29,000 people in Maine.

“It’s something that has always mattered to me personally and professionally,” Collins said. “My family, like so many others, was directly affected. My father, grandfather and two uncles suffered from this devastating disease. I have seen up close how devastating this disease is.

Effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease have eluded scientists for decades.

Collins said that before the intensification of research, “there was almost no focus on Alzheimer’s disease and people mistakenly thought that dementia was a natural part of aging.” There was no agreement. This was often called simply senility.

Jill Carney, public policy director for the Maine chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the focus on Alzheimer’s disease since 2011 has helped not only with medications, but also in learning what helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease. disease.

“It is estimated that 40% of cases of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide can be prevented or alleviated through a healthy diet, exercise and brain activation,” Carney said. “But we are also in a new era of treatment, and we now have treatments that can slow progression. I think we’ll see a lot of change over the next five to ten years, with new treatments and new options for patients. We are still learning about the exact causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

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