Joe Wilson: “Alzheimer's disease affects 4 million Americans, and that number is expected to triple within the next 50 years. Nearly…”

“Alzheimer's disease affects 4 million Americans, and that number is expected to triple within the next 50 years. Nearly half of those over the age of 85 have Alzheimer's. It is a disease that touches almost every American family in some way, and I believe it is time to increase funding for Alzheimer's research to find a cure. The disease process can begin in the brain as many as 20 years before the symptoms appear; and, once diagnosed, a person's average life-span is 8 years. Due to lost productivity of employees who are caregivers and the health care costs associated with Alzheimer's, the disease costs American families more than $61 billion annually. South Carolinians are particularly concerned about Alzheimer's because one of our favorite sons, former Congressman and Governor Carroll Campbell, is undergoing treatment for the disease and is being encouraged by his devoted wife Iris with his sons Carroll, Jr., and Mike. I would like to commend the efforts of the Coastal Carolina, Mid-State and Upstate chapters of the Alzheimer's Association along with the Alzheimer's facility of the Lexington Medical Center.”