Medical research that helps families like mine is in danger in the United States. I grew up in Wilbraham and my family still lives in the area. I majored in accounting in college but left my career as a certified public accountant to study Alzheimer’s disease (a type of dementia) after my grandmother, who lived in East Longmeadow, was diagnosed. Since then, more family members have also developed dementia. It is heartbreaking to watch someone you love have to go through that.
Now, I use brain imaging to perform research investigating how factors like diabetes, obesity, vascular risk, and inflammation increase the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Understanding early brain changes that can lead to dementia is very important for developing and testing personalized treatments and prevention strategies that work.
A lot of people don’t realize it, but research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has contributed in a major way to the development of almost every new medication made available in the United States in recent years. Much of that research — devoted to understanding the diseases rather than testing a specific medication — happens at universities across the country, often in projects that are not appealing to private research companies because they are long-term projects that don’t offer quick returns. Unfortunately, right now, some major universities have had their NIH funding for medical research frozen, and others are at risk of having their research (or even whole labs) shut down due to budget delays and uncertainties. These aren’t controversial studies — they focus on understanding diseases that affect millions of American families.
I’ve heard some people worry that government research money isn’t well monitored. But actually, we all have to write yearly progress reports for every NIH grant, and they can be audited at any time — just like income taxes. Larger grants are audited annually.
Alzheimer’s disease affects over 7 million Americans today, and the number is growing. Without strong NIH support, we lose valuable time in understanding and fighting this devastating disease and many others. If you care about the research that helps families across America, please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives to ask them to protect the budget for NIH-funded medical research.
Meredith Braskie
Redondo Beach, California
